


In The Interest Of Research

by bluepulsebluepulse



Category: DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Journalism, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bluepulse, Closeted Character, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Journalism, Journalist AU, Journalist!Jaime, Junior Journalist, LGTBQ theme, M/M, Speedbuggy, University!Bart, WHO EVEN IS OSCAR WILDE JAIME, idek, newspaper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:47:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23372650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluepulsebluepulse/pseuds/bluepulsebluepulse
Summary: Jaime wins a job as a Junior Journalist at the same news firm Iris West-Allen works at. Running into Bart was inevitable, and when Jaime does, he knows he is in for one heck of a ride. Who knows? Their relationship might even make for an interesting story...
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West, Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes
Comments: 23
Kudos: 25





	1. The Original Coup

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PaintingWithDarkness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintingWithDarkness/gifts), [(someone who puts up with me a lot)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=%28someone+who+puts+up+with+me+a+lot%29).



> Ok... So, here, have five chapters of this new fic I've been working on lol. Hopefully it will keep all of you indoors entertained! I guess as always, please leave a comment. Us writers really do appreciate them! Even if it's just two or three words. Don't be shy! As long as they are positive and or nice, you're very, very, likely to get a response.

A singular of the pair of formal business shoes Jaime was sporting was drilling for oil above the sea of tired carpet. Time and time again, the rubber sole bashed the cross-stitched, nectarine-orange, nylon flooring, fueled by the axle pump of anxiety. The sleek, black shoes - always a good color choice - looked very smart on the nervous man. The designer dress pants rivered down from Jaime’s waist down to his matching black socks. The gleam of a silver belt buckle drew the attention of passers by signalling someone with style. Tucked in beneath the snake around his waist, puffed a perfect blue business shirt sporting faded Bengal stripes. He wished he had that ferocious tiger energy and confidence, but it was trapped in the golden brass cufflinks - reminiscent of the sands of the Serengeti - on his sleeves. As if Jaime’s soaring blood pressure wasn’t bad enough, his crimson tie choked him around the neck and flowed down like a feeble flower. Clean, charcoal-black hair spiked up confidently on his head swayed when his neck did.

“Jaime Reyes, we’re ready to see you.” The sentence came from the woman sticking her head out of the office room where his interview awaited him.

The anxious man stood and hoped his walls wouldn’t cave in on him. But this was ridiculous. He had to be strong. Tapping into his inner mind, he reassured himself.

_ “Come on Jaime. You can do this! They want you to do well, so calm down, so you can do well. I wouldn’t have gotten this far if I didn’t have potential!” _

Lifting his chin high, he and the manilla folder he was clutching stormed into the office. Jaime instantly spotted the blinding white surface of the table top matching the sheen of the teeth he was showing with his now-confident smile. Three professionally dressed women made up the impartial interview panel and were spaced out equally around the circular surface. Each of the women smiled from their cheap strawberry-red plastic chairs. 

“Welcome Jaime. Take a seat.” Iris gestured at the only remaining chair at the table.

Just remembering to switch to the English version in time, Jaime responded, “Thanks.”

“First of all, we will just all introduce ourselves despite our name badges.” Iris chuckled and rolled her eyes over the cringeworthy uniform requirement. Jaime laughed, feeling much more put at ease by Iris’ immediate friendliness.

“I’m Iris West. I’m the lead journalist here at the Weekly for Central City. I’m not the boss though. That honor belongs to the captain here, Leonard Snart. But if you win this position you’d be mostly working for me. But we all get our stories from Snart, so you’d also be reporting to him as well.” Iris stopped talking over her intertwined fingers resting on the table and smiled to let Jaime know she was finished speaking.

“Alright.” Jaime smiled and nodded to show he understood.

The other women took a minute to introduce themselves as well as explaining their individual roles in the publishing company. Jaime respectfully maintained eye contact with whoever was speaking at the time and listened intently. He really wanted this job too because it would give the opportunity to explore his love for investigative journalism and in the one field he loved, technology. And it would also be a way to earn money, which is always a bonus. 

Jaime was also at that age where he really wanted to stand on his own two feet so he could stop being dependent on his parents. He loved them dearly, but he desperately wanted his own independence. His parents had led by example, having upped the family and having moved all the way from the heat of El Paso to the cold of Central City. It had been a career move for Alberto. Jaime also wanted this job to make new friends, since he had left all of his behind in his hometown. And it wasn’t the same carrying them in his heart.

“So Jaime, we have a few questions to ask you. Just answer them honestly and take your time with it.” Iris grinned to show she wasn’t kidding. Shortly after, the woman was hiding behind her glasses and was reading the first question on that oh so intimidating page Jaime couldn’t see.

Jaime was able to answer the first question honestly and let his genuinity shine as he explained his passion for writing and technology. The three women were thoroughly impressed with the Latino’s long but thorough answer. Iris’ grin continued to grow as Jaime continued to smash the answers out of the park. Iris and her coworkers even shared in Jaime’s laughter as he nervously tickled them pink with his personal anecdotes. The head of the table new Jaime would make a welcome addition to the team.

“Well… That’s the end of the questions Jaime. Thank you for answering them all as best you could. This is highly irregular, but could you please go and just wait outside the office for a minute?” Iris’ smile was smooth but there was a surprise lurking in the lime irises Jaime couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Oh… Okay. Sure.” Jaime stood up from the chair and left the room as requested taking his folder with him. He was actually kind of concerned because he knew that was not a conventional part of any job interview.

Once the door had clicked shut, Iris put her pen down on the table and jumped straight to the point.

“Okay ladies. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I think Jaime is fantastic. He is the perfect candidate for this position. I say we hire him now. He was the last interview so everyone’s had a chance. He impressed me the most.” Iris opened up her hands and held them up as she eyed the women either side of her seriously.

“Oh I agree wholeheartedly!” Cassandra crowed from Iris’ left.

“Me too.” Cissie commented much more quietly from the right, but it was evident she agreed vehemently.

“Alright then!” Iris exclaimed happily, “I’ve never hired anyone this quickly before. But you know what they say, there’s a first time for everything.” She shared in a delighted chuckle with her coworkers.

“Cassie would you fetch Jaime please?”

The woman grinned and nodded and hurried to the door. Her blonde hair hung from her head as she leaned outside the door in the most comically rushed fashion, causing Jaime to chuckle quietly to himself. She gestured eagerly for him to come back in to the room.

Jaime sat back down in his spot and looked on as Iris grinned at him patiently waiting for Cassie to sit back down knowing she wouldn’t want to miss his face.

“So Jaime, we’ve staged a coup and have already decided on a candidate.”

“Oh.” Jaime’s smile barely faltered in disappointment, “Well thank you very much for having me. I really appreciated the opportunity.” His eyes projected his genuine gratitude over the platitude.

“Woah, woah, woah.” Iris fanned away Jaime’s impulsiveness with defensive, placating hands in front of her chest, “Hold up there Jaime.” Iris chuckled through her sentence looking knowingly at Cassie and Cissie before directing her next remark at Jaime, “You’re getting way ahead of yourself. You’re acting like my son!” Iris broke out into sweet laughter with Cassie and Cissie. Both of the younger women were actually well acquainted with Bart and knew how truthful the statement rang.

“Sorry?” Jaime questioned rather confused of what was going on.

“It’s okay.” Iris wiped a tear from her eye from laughing so hard. “Maybe I should have started with this…” The woman took a moment to collect herself and straighten her shirt as she stood, “Welcome aboard Jaime.”

The three women and their gleeful grins bored into Jaime as they watched the realization trickle through his impulsive assumption. The man’s eyes lit up in joy and a beam broke across his face, “Really?”

“Really.” Iris repeated the word with cheek as she leaned over the table holding out her hand.

Jaime eagerly reached over and shook it meaningfully. He also leaned left and right to extend the same courtesy to Cassie and Cissie.

“We will contact you later today with more information. So be sure to check your emails Jaime.”

“Absolutely!” Jaime was sure this beam of his was going to last until the end of time.

“Alright, well we have to get back to work. But we’ll see you tomorrow with any luck.” Iris shook Jaime’s hand once more and escorted him back to the elevator.

The happy chime matching Jaime’s mood signified it was time for him to go. Not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things since he was going to be there again tomorrow. Working as the newest employee of the Weekly for Central City. Easiestly the most prestigious publication company in said city. Jaime was ecstatic. He was beyond ecstatic. He couldn’t wait to tell his parents the exciting news. He said his cheerful goodbye to Iris and headed down to the ground floor. He signed out at the foyer and then sped-walk out of the rotating doors to the fancy skyscraper. He dodged in and out of people on the busy, bustling street as he headed home.

This was it. He had made it. Dwelling on the accomplishment only accelerated his pace until he turned the corner to head towards the bus stop stowed away beside the building.

“Oof!” Jaime gasped as he knocked a poor young man to his feet on the quiet side street, “Lo siento! Are you alright?”

Jaime instinctively looked down at the auburn hair covering the majority of the man’s face (given his head was held forward close to his chest as a defensive reflex). All Jaime could see was a familiar light grey, woolen Central City University jumper above a pair of tight navy skinny jeans. The jumper was familiar to Jaime as he had just finished attending the same university.

Jaime’s apologetic hand immediately reached down to help the other man up from the freckled concrete sidewalk he had just greeted. No thanks to Jaime. The Caucasian hand reached up for his own whilst the other matching hand ran the long locks blocking his vision back up over his head so he could see properly again. 

The hovering offender froze as he looked into the surprised emerald eyes of the cute stranger. If his matching blooming blush was of any indication, there was a mutually felt spark in that moment as they stared at one another’s bright set of eyes. They shared in a soft chuckle as Jaime pulled through his shock and brought Bart back to his sneakered feet.

“I’m so sorry! I was in a hurry.” Jaime swallowed as he noticed his eyes were  _ also  _ hurrying up and down the man desperately trying to drink in the dreamy man before they never got the chance to do so again. Because obviously, Jaime could not ask out a man he had just struck into the sidewalk. Besides, it wasn’t the sort of thing Jaime did, no matter how gorgeous the man he kind of owed a debt too now was.

“It’s okay!” Bart laughed and grinned, “This was just what I needed to make my day more interesting.” Jaime’s pupils widened nervously at the sexy smirk spreading along the man’s lips. Truthfully, Bart had had a very long and boring day at university; and there weren’t even any prospects of anything interesting happening during his day that fell outside of the scope of the ordinary routine he was facing. Brush his teeth, breakfast, university, lunch, more university, drive to pick up Iris from work on his way home, dinner with the parents, shower, sleep and repeat.

“I uhh- I…” Jaime felt like he had been knocked off of  _ his  _ feet. He rubbed the hairs at the nape of his neck to comfort his nerves. It wasn’t working.

“You-?” Bart leered, encouraging him to continue.

Jaime blushed brightly and let out a singular laugh. He tried to talk once more before giving up. After all, he was never going to see this man again. It was fine. He faltered before doing the most embarrassing possible. He bit his lip before slyly slipping past Bart with apologetic eyes before waving nervously as he passed Bart. 

Bart laughed incredulously as the man made his exit stage left and turned to watch as he made his getaway. 

Jaime looked across his shoulder as he continued on his way calling out one last time, “Again! I’m really sorry!”

Bart quickly cupped his hands over his grinning mouth and yelled out after the man, “All is forgiven!”

Bart’s hands settled on his hips as he watched the man walk down the street towards the bus stop. Jaime walked behind the bus stop feeling so embarrassed he just wanted to hide from the world. Curiosity got the better of him and he leaned backwards to catch a last glimpse as Bart walked around the corner. Except he wasn’t walking around the corner. He was standing there superman-ing it proudly. Jaime’s eyes bulged in shock and Bart chuckled as Jaime ducked quickly back behind the bus stop to cradle his face in his hopeless hands. He felt like the biggest dork on the planet.

Only now did Bart shake his head and laugh it off before turning to walk around the corner towards the entrance of the Weekly for Central City building. He knew Iris would still be working for another few hours since his classes finished early most days of the week. This was part of the concrete routine he was used to. He truly was glad that Jaime had added a splash of excitement to his mediocre day. He knew it was a long shot, but Bart hoped if he timed it right, he might pass the crumbles-like-cookie stranger again.

And as Jaime hopped on his bus, he found himself hoping the same farfetched thought.


	2. Friendly Reminders

A beaming Bart strutted into the foyer of his mother’s workplace as he did every weekday. As always, he exchanged pleasantries with all her coworkers as he entered the flying box to go up to her level. The doors began closing before a clipboard announced itself with a clack, bravely wrestling off the closing doors.

The familiar black bandanna wearing blonde hurried in through the gap she had created. It took a moment for her to realize she was not alone in the elevator.

Bart cheerily greeted the disheveled blonde, “Hey Cassie! What’s up?”

“Oh! Hey Bart! You seem cheery today? What’s got you so happy?” Cassie turned the tables on Bart with a grin.

Bart smirked suspiciously before lifting up a hand as if he were the president, “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

Cassie shot Bart a look that conveyed exactly what she was thinking, ‘you’re an idiot’. Nevertheless, she rolled her eyes and returned to his initial question as the elevator continued rising to the second highest floor of the skyscraper.

“Captain Cold has assigned me this new story and has given me a tight deadline for it.” Her irritated tone collected mostly at the beginning of the sentence as she threw out the mean nickname the employees of the publication used behind the bosses back. It was well warranted though. Leonard Snart was a ruthless CEO who treated his employees very coldly, hence the nickname.

“Ah.” Bart nodded in pity having heard enough stories from the scads of other people who worked alongside his mother. “Well, I guess try your best Cass. It’s all you can do.”

“Thanks Bart.” She smiled in perfect synchronization with the elevator’s arrival chime.

The pair went their separate ways outside the elevator. Bart headed towards his mother’s office and entered as he always did. Bart opened his mouth to speak until it was frozen open by his mother’s forefinger. She held the finger up as she continued speaking on the phone held by her ear.

“No worries. I’ve got the necessary paperwork right here and I’ll send that it right away Mr. Snart. Goodbye.” Iris blew hot air through pursed lips and shook off the tension. “Sorry about that Bart, was talking to the boss.”

“It’s crash. I’m just going to chill in the board room.” Bart pointed in the direction of the room.

“Okay. I’ll be done at 5pm. Here…” The generous mother held out a dollar bill, “Help yourself to the vending machine if you’re hungry!” She smiled warmly at her son who graciously snatched the money before thanking her before making his hasty exit. She watched with a quirked eyebrow as Bart and his bulky backpack scratched her glass office doors in a headrush to the vending machine.

She chuckled to herself as she shook her head before whispering, “Oh Bart…” She wondered whether he would ever find someone who would put up with her extra extra son. She loved him with all her heart, but she did worry about her son finding someone special. He had been unbelievably lucky in love, if his stories were of any indication. His dating portfolio stemmed from a longlist of failed dates with girls his age. Iris just thought it was a real shame.

Standing up and leaving the thoughts on her desk, she grabbed the notice of employment and contractual paperwork printed out for Jaime. They were ready for his arrival the next day. She still had to send a copy for him to read in advance via email along with sign in information and more. She just hoped he was okay with the tedious terms and conditions outlined in the contract. He would get the job if he agreed to sign his life away on paper the next day.

Just down the hall, Bart scanned the rows of packaged confectionery in the vending machine with hungry, hungry eyes. It took him a few minutes to decide but he ended up choosing a packet of m&m’s. Honestly, Bart liked eating the colors of the rainbow. To him, it felt like the best way to hide but show his support of the LGTBQ+ community. He was the only one who actually knew he belonged to that community. He felt bad about lying to his parents about all the girls he was supposedly dating, but he wasn’t ready to come out yet. Was actually, if anything, very far away from coming out. He felt very comfortable in the - people in his life’s - perception of him. He was scared for that to change.

He staggered into the seemingly always empty board room and slumped down in the swivel chair at the head of the table. He stared at the whiteboard covered in scribbled sayings before sighing. It looked messy, which is how his life felt. How was he supposed to get a boyfriend when he was in the closet? How was he going to continue hiding his attraction to cute guys? Especially when they kept getting cuter and cuter? And that one he had just met earlier, well he had taken the crown for being impossible good looking. It was all Bart could do to not drool like a pining pitbull.

Bart decided to let the multicolored treats melt his stress away. But unfortunately, which each one he popped in his mouth, another question came. Frustrated, Bart aggressively reached into his school bag and felt around blindly for his laptop with a concentrated tongue resting on his lips. When he found the scared device, he yanked it out into the daylight. Much how he felt he would feel if outed.

The auburn hair swished as Bart reached out and cracked his knuckles, “Time to do some uni work!” He craned his neck either side before eagerly typing in his password. While the bar spun around and around like the wheels on Jaime’s bus back home, Bart poured the remainder of the rainbow pebbles into his mouth.

Iris walked in suddenly with her head down and unannounced, “Bart. I’ve just been-” When she looked up to see her son’s cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk’s she stopped holding the doorframe in place. Her face dropped with amusement, “Told I can go early…”

She grinned at her embarrassed son, “You know you don’t have to store nuts for the winter right? There are still plenty more m&m’s where that came from.”

Bart squinted at his mother unable to move his mouth without making it rain rainbows.

She chuckled and waited patiently while Bart turned to hastily chew and swallow the challenging mouthful of color. When he burped, Iris rolled her eyes and that knew in that moment, Bart would be single forever. She sighed as she pushed the door open wider for him to stride through with his repacked backpack.

“So? Any juicy stories today mom?” Bart grinned as he folded his arms in the elevator.

“Nope. I spent most of the day preparing for a job interview actually.” Iris pressed the ground floor button and folded her arms unconsciously copying her son.

“Crash.” Bart didn’t really care all that much about her day, but he liked to ask to show he cared. Just because he had a hundred and one assignments on his mind, it didn’t mean he couldn’t care.

The elevator came to a slow stop, much like Jaime’s bus once it had reached his stop. The excited Latino literally ran the short remainder of the distance home. He nearly dropped his key in his excited hurry to get in the front door.

After bounding into the kitchen in his business clothes, scaring his mother half to death, Jaime blurted his news, “Ma! I got the job!”

Bianca’s eyes were just as excited as Jaime’s were once the shouted surprise had registered in her brain, “Dios mio! Felicidades hijo!”

Jaime nearly knocked his mother over with a hug, but that didn’t stop her from saying, “I’m so proud of you Jaime.”

“Gracias.” Jaime chuckled over her shoulder and smiled warmly. This level of excitement was uncharacteristic for him and he knew it. He just found his childlike excitement over the whole thing hilarious.

“I was about to start cooking dinner but I think we should go out to celebrate.” Bianca tossed the dinner plans she had planned out of her mind like a tortilla, and began simmering on what restaurants she and her husband could take Jaime to.

“I can’t wait to tell Pa!” Jaime grinned in eager anticipation.

“I know he will be very happy to hear the news.” Bianca pinched Jaime’s cheek lightly causing him to laugh.

“Anyway, I have to go check my emails. I’ll be in my room if you need me.” Jaime hurried out of the kitchen towards his room.

Upon entering his room, he kicked off his clunky, constricting business shoes and moaned in relief stepping on the comfortable carpet again. He stalked over to his desk and turned on his laptop hoping that the email had already come through. It had. He quickly printed it and skim read it. Knowing it would be a wise idea, he called out to his mother and summoned her to read over it a second time. He knew he would feel better signing the contract the next day if both he and at least one parent had read over it. Thankfully, Bianca hadn’t spotted anything dodgy and gave Jaime her blessing. Jaime knew he would have signed it anyway. There was no way he was passing up a job this good out of fear of some unlikely legal ramification down the track.

“So when do you start mijo?” Bianca asked as she settled the papers down on his desk.

“Tomorrow.” Jaime grinned as he rested a leg over his other bent knee and sighed on his bed.

“Well you better make sure you’re prepared. Your clothes need to be ironed for tomorrow.”

Jaime shot up sitting on his bed, “Dios mio. I hadn’t even thought about that.”

Bianca tapped her forehead to point out her intellect, “That’s why you need your mother around.”

Jaime laughed sweetly knowing that his mother’s fears of Jaime moving out were talking. Jaime had now gotten himself a fulltime job. Give or take a year or so, and they both knew he would have the funds to support himself on his own. Sensing the underlying motive, Jaime went and gave his mother another hug, “Te quiero mama. No te preocupes, no me mudaré pronto.”

“Buen.” She smiled as she patted her son on the back.

Jaime put on his sweetest son's voice as he made his next request, “Can you iron my clothes please ma? You do it so much better than me.”

Bianca smirked, seeing right through the tone he had taken with her. But she knew that he was right, and she did want to support her son in making a great first impression on his first day. So she agreed. She held a discussion with her son about what he wanted to wear and then left his room with the clothes he wanted ironed.

Eventually Jaime’s father returned from work and was overjoyed to hear his son’s news. Unsurprisingly, a remark about his choice to have moved them all to Central City was brought up again. Every time something beneficial came from the move, he pointed it out to his family whom he had felt had relentlessly resented him following their flock from El Paso. That had actually been the case, but it had been years now and the family had let go of all of their resentment. Jaime had gone through university in Central City and Milagro was moving swiftly through secondary school.

Once the four were all dressed and ready, they headed out to Jaime’s favorite restaurant. His parents both noticed he seemed distracted throughout the evening which they drew back to his exciting first day at work to come. But Jaime knew that they were off base with that assumption. Strangely enough, Jaime’s mind kept drifting back to the man that had somehow been anticipating his move of peeking around the bus stop to watch him leave. How had he known Jaime was going to take one last leering look at him? And how dare he confidently stand there grinning in the victory once he had caught Jaime doing just that!

“I think he’s broken.” Milagro rolled her eyes at her brother.

“Jaime?” His father tried to get his attention for the fifth time.

“Si?” Jaime acted like he had just had a bucket of water splashed on his face.

“Do you want any dessert?”

“Uhh… sure.”

The family kept chatting about Jaime’s first day, hypothesizing what it would be like.

“I bet you’re going to be very popular there!” Alberto grinned at Jaime trying to get a reaction. Jaime knew what his father was insinuating. A girlfriend. Jaime managed to not roll his eyes.

“I bet he’s gonna get fired!” Milagro chimed in cheekily.

“Milagro!” Bianca snapped in her common motherly scold. “Whatever happens Jaime. We will  _ all  _ be proud of you.”

“Gracias ma.” Jaime smiled. He spent the rest of his night stuck wondering exactly  _ how  _ his first day would  _ actually  _ go. Amazingly, his mind had mercy on him and let him fall asleep in the end.


	3. Jaime's First Day

The blinding rays of the sun shimmering through Jaime’s blinds promised a bright new day ahead of the sleepy head. All was still in the room until the annoying alarm began blaring away, pestering Jaime like a persistent fly. After an initial grumble, Jaime remembered it was his first day at his new job. Only then did he slam the snooze button whilst he did the complete opposite.

Leaping out of bed, Jaime got dressed in the dashing clothes he had laid out on his desk chair the night prior. Using his bedroom mirror, Jaime was able to tweak all the little things that would make the difference between him being taken seriously at the office or not. And a good thing too, because he had completely overlooked one of the buttons on his business shirt, smack bang in the middle. It stuck out like a sore thumb, which his finger actually was after finessing the beady little bastard through the tiny gap it belonged in.

“Jaime! Breakfast is ready!” Bianca bellowed all the way from the kitchen.

“Coming Ma!” Jaime hopped across the room whilst trying to put a sock on before tumbling out the door having successfully managed the manoeuvre.

Jaime jogged into the kitchen and stopped when he noticed there was a surprise for him. His mother and father were sitting at the table expectantly with a present wrapped in gift wrapping paper. Jaime’s jaw slackened in a grin, he wasn’t even aware he was getting a present.

“What’s this?” The good natured suspicion flowed from his lips to his grinning parents.

“Sit down and open it.” Alberto shoved the rectangular item over to his son at the other side of the table.

As soon as the mysterious package had spun around, it had revealed a giveaway feature of the item inside. Jaime chuckled incredulously. Out of the otherwise perfectly rectangular box, stuck a poorly wrapped handle. It was a briefcase. Jaime eagerly unwrapped his first ever briefcase and made sure he swooned over it to make his parents happy before he even knew whether he liked it or not. He wanted them to know he appreciated the gesture regardless.

“Do you like it?” Bianca intertwined her fingers as she brought her hands together in a silent prayer. The pair had kept the receipt so they could return it if Jaime didn’t like it.

“It’s very nice.” Jaime smiled to show he meant it. And he did. It was a very sleek, modern case. He was definitely going to use it to store all of his odd bits and pieces in. “Gracias.” Jaime’s chair screeched along the tiles as he got up in a hurry to go and hug both of his parents.

“Hey!” Milagro stood arms spread above her head resting in the door frame, “Where’s my present?”

“You’ll get one when you get a job.” Bianca glared her down for her cheek.

Jaime was enjoying watching Milagro pout as she pulled up a chair mumbling to herself. It got better when Bianca placed a delicious, steaming-hot pile of chocolate chip pancakes in front of him. Jaime’s adoring look at his mother was thanks enough.

“Usually I wouldn’t condone such a breakfast, but you worked really hard to get this job. So I made an exception. But from tomorrow onwards, it’s bran flakes only.”

Jaime deflated a bit in his chair, but ultimately, the mood was still going strong. After having finished his delectable pancakes, Jaime hustled out the front door after saying goodbye to his family. His headphones fed him music on top of the pancakes stacked in his stomach as he walked to the bus stop. He sent a prayer hoping his bus was on time this morning.

Thankfully the bus arrived right on schedule. Once he had clamored onboard he took the first available seat. He was jostled from side to side by the reckless bus driver who seemed to be just as excited about Jaime getting to his first day of work at his new job. Holding up a thankful hand before jumping out, Jaime left the bus and began to run around the corner before he remembered how much trouble that had gotten him into the previous day. He chuckled as he relived the memory, it was just the pick me up he needed before his nerve-racking first day.

Jaime checked in as instructed via the email and collected his ID pass. He wasn’t aware that he needed to have his photo taken, but it didn’t bother him since he looked particularly dashing in his humble opinion. His mother had even made a comment just as he was leaving the house about how handsome he looked. She was so good to him.

Admittedly, his anxiety rose with each level he got closer to being on the same one as Iris’. When the doors opened, it felt like a whole new world. Sure he had been there the day before, but it didn’t feel the same. He was a part of the organisation now. He stepped out and savored the sound of keyboards typing away and people talking on their phones. It was a lively atmosphere.

“Good morning Jaime.” Iris surprised the man from his side.

Jaime chuckled as he calmed down from his little jump, “Good morning Iris. How are you today?” He cringed for the professional workplace etiquette he forced out of himself.

Iris grinned seeing right through him, “I’m alright thanks. And yourself?”

“I’m curious to see where my first day takes me.” Jaime chuckled nervously.

“Don’t worry Jaime. You’ll be fine. I know you can handle this job. I wouldn’t have hired you otherwise.” She smiled reassuringly, “Anyway, come with me.”

Jaime followed after the well dressed woman. She began to walk and talk, “Now I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is I have arranged a tour of the office for you with Cassandra.” Jaime thanked her before she suddenly stopped at the doors to a room, “The bad news is… we’re actually at capacity at the moment we don’t have a booth for you. But, we’re going to set you up in our board room for now.” The woman pushed the doors open and gestured for Jaime to go in before her. Jaime thanked her and walked through.

“Just set yourself up and get comfortable and I’ll go fetch Cassie for your tour!” Iris smiled and left the room.

Jaime scouted all the seats around the large Oak table. He wondered how many great and inspiring ideas had been theorized at the very table. If that’s where he was working on stories, he hoped that somehow the luck of the greats before him would still be trapped in the room and would rub off on him. He gently placed his suitcase on the table not wanting to scratch the manmade table which some carpenter likely dedicated the life of a tree to.

“Hi.” Cassie stuck her head through the door. Jaime was beginning whether this was an eccentricity of hers since he hadn’t once seen her actually walk through a door. “Are you ready for your tour?”

“Si.” Jaime smiled and left his belongings behind trying not to worry about thievery.

Once out the room Cassie directed Jaime to the elevator. Upon him questioning it, she explained she figured she may as well take him to the ground floor and show him some of the facilities there before working her way up. They walked out onto the ground floor after a chatty ride down.

“So. Here we have the main foyer. Around the corner is a nice cafe. So if you are ever craving a coffee,” Cassie leaned in close to Jaime to whisper, “And that will happen a lot,  _ trust  _ me.” Jaime chuckled at the emphasis she put on the hushed remark. She soon returned to regular volume, “They do make very good coffee there. I strongly recommend it.”

“Duly noted.” Jaime smiled and looked around a little more, appreciating all the finer details.

“Alright I’ll take you back up and tell you about each floor.” Cassie gestured with a wave and the pair hopped back in the elevator.

Pointing at the ground floor button and working her way, she explained, “So obviously, ground floor. First floor is administration. Second floor is printing.” She continued until she reached their floor, “Nineteenth floor is our floor. And the twentieth floor is the boss’ floor.”

“Can I just check? I think I remember from yesterday… But the CEO is Leonard Snart right?”

“Correct!” She gawked at him for a moment, “Wow! You have a very good memory!” She was genuinely impressed having known she wouldn’t have remembered that in Jaime’s shoes. “That will come in handy with your writing!” She grinned as the elevator arrived back at their floor.

Jaime laughed, “I hope so.”

Making friendly talk as she walked Jaime back to his boardroom, she noted, “I’m kind of jealous that you get a whole room to yourself. I wish that was my office. The booths are so noisy.” She groaned to convey her every day quabble which management had no interest in addressing.

“Well, I guess I will try to savor my time there.” Jaime chuckled and actually felt really relieved to hear that he was at an advantage to concentrate better where he was situated now. Suddenly he didn’t want to move to a booth to feel like he was a part of the office. Conformity is overrated.

Jaime noticed a lot of the women he was walking past staring at him with what he would assume was intrigued expressions. That was until one woman fanned her face with a notepad whilst looking directly at him.

“Oh give it a rest Jenny!” Cassie called the woman out which resulted in her shooting the blonde a seething frown.

Jaime perplexed as ever had to ask, “What’s that about?”

Cassie spun around and stopped walking before sticking her hand out and stopping Jaime in the chest. He hadn’t been expecting the literal hand brake. He choked on the air he was in the midst of inhaling. She looked genuinely surprised but also pitiful.

“She’s hitting on you. They all are.” Cassie raised an amused hand and gestured to the majority of the workers  _ not working _ and looking up at him from their booths.

Jaime gulped as he scanned many sets of lustful eyes set on him. Even one or two of the office men were trained on him. It was mostly women though.

“Uhh…” Jaime trailed off unsure of what to say.

“Anyway, I’ll leave you to do your work.” Cassie smiled and walked off.

Jaime quickly ducked back into the board room and thanked whatever designer had chosen to make the door and walls of his ‘office’ opaque. He hadn’t even realized he had become the hottie of their floor. Now he  _ really  _ wanted to stay in this room forever, he didn’t feel safe out there amongst the booths. He hated rejecting people. University had been a nightmare, he was frequently being asked out. Often by group project partners which made working with them for a semester incredibly awkward. Here, the ramifications of rejection were a lot longer lasting than a semester. Jaime was trying to bolster some reassurance to himself when Iris walked in.

“Hi Jaime, Snart just called me and asked me to send you up to his floor. He has a story for you.” Iris went to duck out before hesitating and following up, “And just a tip. Never question anything he says or tell him that he’s wrong. But you didn’t hear that from me.”

Jaime laughed anxiously, “Okay. Thanks?” He got up and followed out after Iris quickly before hurrying off to the elevator to ride up to Snart’s floor. He didn’t want to keep the boss waiting. He strode into the new floor and followed the signage to Snart’s office. It was evident from the decor and atmosphere that he was in the executive’s environment. He knocked on the door softly hoping like hell he wasn’t interrupting the man in any way shape or form.

“Hurry up! Come in!” Jaime heard who he presumed must be Snart, bark from the other side of the door. He quickly shuffled into the office.

“Jaime I presume?” Leonard lifted his chin as he sized up the new employee. Once Jaime nodded, speechless from being appalled by the lack of manners, Leonard got straight to the point by opening a copy of his portfolio on his desk. “I’ve had a look at your work Reyes. It’s surprisingly good.” Leonard’s eyes flicked up at Jaime in a derisive manner before looking back down, “I see you’ve written a exposé on the sexist and homophobic attitudes in the computing world regarding male and female connectors, cords and cables.”

“That’s right sir.” Jaime was proud of himself for remaining completely composed despite Snart’s implied racist jab at the quality of his work being good for someone who wasn’t Caucasian.

“Well, once I read this and could see you genuinely support this crap, I knew you’d be perfect for the story I have.” He dropped the folder and leaned back in his leather chair missing the falter in Jaime’s composure before he was able to hide it again, “The board has been on my back about a lack of,” Snart raised his forefingers to frame the word, “representation,” he lowered his fingers again, “so as your first story, I want you to write about what it’s like to write a piece about dating in the LGTB-whatever community.”

Only now did Snart look at Jaime to gauge his reaction. Jaime remained silent because he didn’t have the brain power to speak. It was taking every ounce of his will to keep his face from revealing just how disgusted he was by the man before him. Captain Cold? More like Captain Arsehole. And Jaime didn’t feel like that even came close to giving it justice.

“Jaime? Are you going to write the story or am I going to have to fire you?”

“I’ll write the story sir. Is there anything else?” Jaime didn’t think he’d ever see the day when he deadpanned someone in a position of power you’re supposed to respect. Jaime asked if there was anything else Snart wanted and promptly left longing for his private space more than ever.


	4. The Great Escape

Long, bored fingers combed through either side of his long auburn hair. Bart was so unbelievably done with the lecture he was trapped in. He actually felt physical pain listening to the guest speaker talk about the economic benefits of… Well Bart didn’t actually know anymore. He had tuned out a long time ago, and yet somehow, he still felt like he was being waterboarded. He snapped having had enough. Standing up abruptly drawing some attention to himself, Bart stormed out of the lecture theater.

“That was so moded.” Bart groaned as he jogged out of the building, sighing in relief when he was outside breathing in beloved fresh air.

He knew Iris wouldn’t be happy to know he had blown off some of his study material, but to keep his sanity he had decided to stage a coup and leave early. You see, it ran in the family. Bart was certainly the most impulsive, but he could have sworn a decent amount of it had rubbed off on Iris and Barry.

Having reached his car, Bart hopped right in and started the car. He was in such a hurry just to get away from university he had forgotten to plug in his phone for music. Damn. He was stuck listening to the radio. As he reached to turn it off, preferring to drive in silence, Bart’s finger halted when hearing the word ‘acceptance’. Intrigued, Bart decided to give the unknown man talking over the radio waves a ten second window to keep his interest. Amazingly he succeeded.

“Do you ever feel trapped? Do you ever feel truly alone and like no one understands you?”

“Yes.” The truth fell from Bart’s lips. He even sort of lost focus on the road for a second as making the admission out aloud cut deeper than the seatbelt across his chest.

“Well I’m here to tell you, ‘acceptance’ is the key.” The positively upbeat man had Bart hooked.

“Go on. I’m listening.” Bart grinned as he questioned his sanity for speaking to his stereo.

“You need to accept yourself. I know, I know. That’s a lot easier said than done. But you can do it. Even if it is bit by bit. Baby steps. And I know what you’re thinking… Why do I need to accept myself? Well I’ll tell you. Because if you don’t accept yourself then you’re all alone. And you should be able to be able to at least count on yourself. After all, are you not in it for the long haul with you, yourself and you?”

Bart chuckled over the corny line but continued listening.

“Seriously, nobody else will ever accept you  _ fully _ . Nobody. Not even your family. Sure you may think but they love me, or, but they always support me. Sure, they might, and that’s honestly great. But deep down, there will always be things about you that bug them. Ergo, only you, can ever accept yourself fully.”

The light brown eyebrows above Bart’s enlightened emerald eyes rose slowly.

“Accepting yourself fully is not a crime. It doesn’t mean you are full of yourself. It means you have a lifeline. It means someone is literally always there for you, it’s you. And why shouldn’t everyone have that? And there are more benefits too!”

“Do go on Mr. Radio man…” Bart prattled.

“Accepting yourself allows you to be more confident! You know that cutie you’ve got your eye on? Well… trust me, your chances are a lot greater if you come across as confident.”

“I mean… He was a cutie. But I’ll probably never see him again.” Bart jerked his indicator on a little more aggressively than he needed to as he made the turn on to the highway.

Meanwhile, Jaime was steaming in the boardroom and could feel a vein throbbing in his neck from holding his posture in a tense stance. It took a few minutes for him to calm down but then he looked down at the sheet of paper and managed to read the sloppy handwriting denoting the title, ‘Dating in the LGTBQ+ community.’ He wanted to do the article a service, do the community he secretly belonged to proud. Yes he was bisexual, but he had never actually dated any men. Only women, well, one woman. And she had turned on him and decided to date a woman instead. He knew his ex-girlfriend could write this article and give it the insight it deserved, but he couldn’t. Pity he didn’t get along with her at all, otherwise he might have found that consultation useful.

“Jaime?” Iris stuck her head through the door, apparently she had caught Cassie’s condition.

“Si?” Jaime chuckled and waved her in.

“I can’t stay long, I just wanted to see what your first story was about. Call me nosy.” She smiled as if to say ‘sorry not sorry’ and jittered on over to stand behind Jaime. “Interesting…” Jaime could tell by the way she said it that she was wondering whether there was a specific reason Snart had given it to him.

“Are you happy with it?” She gestured at it with a hand and cut in once more before Jaime could answer, “It’s okay if you’re not. I know you wanted to write about technology, but my first article wasn’t about my preferred platform either, which was political journalism. I got stuck with an article about pollution in the oceans.” She laughed remembering the memory from a good decade ago before tapping in the shoulder, “It will come in time.”

“I mean, it could be worse.” Jaime chuckled as he looked down at the piece of paper and she joined in.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” Iris turned to leave before spinning back upon hearing her name.

“Sorry Iris, before you go, could you please tell me what this is?” Jaime pointed at a blip in the disastrous handwriting.

Iris laughed and looked Jaime in the eye as she stepped back closer to him, “Yeh. His writing is dreadful, but I’ve gotten better at reading it over the years.” Iris looked down at the paper and studied the particular spot below Jaime’s perfectly pruned finger nail.

“That’s a timestamp. He puts hyphens between the digits instead of a colon.” Iris rolled her eyes as she spared yet another frequent moment of her day hating on him and his eccentricities.

“Oh. How… quirky?” Jaime was glad Iris laughed at his joke and didn’t take offence. It was pretty clear it was the entire population of the building versus Snart.

Jaime continued to ask more questions about the unidentifiable sections in the handwriting.

Bart had continued to listen to the fascinating radio program and found himself feeling like a new man by the time he pulled over in the car park for his mother’s work just behind the bus stop. Walking past the bus stop, Bart smiled in reminiscence of the marvelous memory. He vowed to himself on the high he was feeling from the car ride, that he would make an effort to take baby steps towards accepting himself. Sure, he wasn’t going to out himself and go throwing a pride parade just yet, but he was going to take small steps towards tweaking his toxic mindset where he confined himself to a cube of isolation. 

It was official, if he came across any guys he liked, he was going to allow himself to flirt like he desperately wanted to. He was actually very flirtatious in general so he knew it wouldn’t be hard. But he had always forbidden himself from doing it. Sometimes, it would leak out of him accidentally and he would scold himself for it and remove himself from the situation entirely. But now, he was going to let his rainbow flag fly free where it was safe to do so. He’d be careful about how he went about it in order to delay his parents finding out. He was sure of that.

“Is this an address? I think it’s a postcode?” Jaime was beyond perplexed and slightly waved his pen around in frustration.

“Sorry Jaime, but not even I’m sure about that one.” Iris chortled and stood up, “I’ll be right back, I just have to make a phone call to Snart. If you want I can ask him what it says?”

“No!” Jaime had replied way too loudly. After apologizing he continued, “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t want to associate him anymore than I have to.”

Iris grinned, “Look at you. You’re already one of us.” Jaime grinned at her cheeky and unprofessional remark and turned back to his paper as she walked out. 

Jaime decided to move on from that unidentifiable scribble to the next. No sense stalling when he had other mini-mysteries he could solve in the meantime. The next one boggled him to.

Bart walked out onto the floor and didn’t go into his mother’s office to announce his extra early arrival like he usually would, he didn’t want to let her know he had cut class. Bart walked straight into the boardroom and was taken aback when he saw someone sitting in his spot.

Jaime heard the door open and assumed it was Iris again. He pointed at the blur of ink his eyes were trained down on and asked, “Is this a date?”

“I sure hope so.”

Jaime’s head snapped up at the unexpectedly sultry reply. His bulging bulbs desperately seeked out the source of the voice that had caused him to nearly short circuit. Bart was standing to Jaime’s side, and when they locked eyes Bart remembered his little vow. He had already made a start on letting out years of repressed flirting and he wasn’t going to stop. 

“Hello stranger.” Bart leered as Jaime gasped and went slack jawed. “Thought you could run from me huh?”

“I- I wasn’t running from you. I was… making sure I wasn’t late for the bus!” Jaime lied.

Bart tugged on the rim of the empty swivel chair beside Jaime, “Is this seat taken?” Bart knew it wasn’t, but he couldn’t help but play with Jaime’s mind. Jaime swallowed as he tried not to focus intently on the smug grin Bart was wearing.

“Uhh… No?”

“Good, so you won’t mind me taking it then.” Bart spun the chair around and sat on it backwards in a suave manner that had Jaime grab at his tie which had somehow gotten tighter. It gave Bart an idea. He reached out and grabbed the tip of the tie and bit his lip as Jaime’s breath hitched in the freeze of his chest. Bart continued to run his hand up the tie approaching the trapped breath in Jaime’s throat, “I like your tie.”

Jaime choked on the breath he had held onto for long, “Gracias…”

The Latino was shocked by this man’s confidence. He was hitting on Jaime harder than a punching bag. And he hated how much he was enjoying it. Even more perplexing, Jaime felt a strong urge to reciprocate. Or at least try.

“I like your jumper.” Jaime smiled nervously as he pointed weakly at it.

“Thanks!” Bart’s exclamation required him to let go of the garment around Jaime’s throat. Bart threw himself back in the chair and wrapped his hands behind his neck cockily, “It’s a standard for those at Central City University.”

Jaime grinned now that he was on a field he could run on, “Yeh I know. I graduated this year.”

Bart’s eyes lit up with intrigue, “Ooh. Impressive. What did you study?” 

“I did a double degree. Journalism and Technology.” Jaime felt admittedly touched Bart was taking a genuine interest in him. “What about you?”

“Physics.” Bart licked his lips in a way that suggested that somehow his studies helped in the bedroom. And judging by the dip in Jaime’s Adam's apple, he got the message.

“Well… I’m sure you’re very intelligent then?” Jaime wasn’t sure why that was relevant, or why he was even complimenting the guy. He was just so attractive Jaime wasn’t sure what he was doing anymore. Jaime was noticing the faint freckles splashed across Bart’s cheeks. It took a great deal of staring to actually notice them, Jaime actually felt like he must belong to a very small club of people who had ever actually leered long enough to notice. He felt special.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Bart chuckled modestly for a moment eager to move on. And he saw his opportunity. Bart rolled his chair closer to Jaime’s and leaned his hands on Jaime’s briefcase. Jaime watched Bart carefully waiting for him to speak, which he soon did when he leered, “May I?” Jaime knew he couldn’t say no to the gorgeous guy.

Bart slowly and sensually slid the leather case in front of him and watched Jaime’s eyes panic as he traced his fingers leisurely around the edges of the rectangular lid. Jaime blinked when Bart grabbed onto the clasps of the briefcase suddenly, before slowly lifting up the lid.

“So… what do we have here?” Bart reached in and lifted out the manilla folder.

“It’s my portfolio. It’s got all my old pieces in it. Just articles and stuff...”

Bart hummed in thought before flipping the folder open and skim reading the titles of his articles. Bart snickered and raised his hand to cover his mouth.

“What is it?” Jaime leaned forward, eyes wide with alarm.

“Nothing.” Bart set the folder down in front of him for easy access and looked back at Jamie before spotting the piece of paper in front of him, “What’s that you’re working on?”

“It’s my first story. I’m new here.” Jaime gestured his hand in explanation. But he still hadn’t forgotten about Bart’s snicker. He was dying to know what Bart had found so funny?


	5. Research Always Pays Off

“Oh I know you’re new.” As Jaime went to inquire how he was aware of that, Bart cut him off again, “So, what’s your first story about?”

Jaime could tell Bart was genuinely curious, perhaps too much so. “It’s about dating in the LGTBQ+ community.”

Bart’s eyes widened as his head recoiled back into his neck with surprise. As it returned back to its normal resting position, Bart grinned, “And you have experience on such a topic?”

Jaime blushed heavy red. They could have used his cheeks to stamp story submission forms. Jaime reached up in his restrictive business shirt and managed to rub his neck, “Umm… No, actually…”

Bart nodded with pursed lips before leaning in resting on his knees, “So how are you going to write it then?”

Jaime spaced. When he returned, he decided to play it safe with a generic answer without really thinking about it, “Well… I’m going to do what every good journalist does. Research.”

“Research huh? And how exactly are you going to research dating in the LGTBQ+ community?” Bart’s grin was ablaze with a single thought on his mind.

Jaime twitched, “I don’t know… Maybe read some books about it?”

“Hands on research is better.” Bart caressed the smooth skin around his neck as he said it. Jaime immediately began choking on air. Bart began to chuckle mischievously once it was evident Jaime was trying his best to fight off the dirty imagery that had given him.

“Well… I mean, maybe?” Jaime’s throat was getting scratchy on the inside. An itch he could not satisfy. Come to think of it, he felt a deeper unsatisfied itch, inside his entire body. And the solution became clearer when Bart suddenly leaned his elbow on the table top and rested his chin in his palm before beaming beautifully. Quietly, Jaime spoke up again, “In the interest of research…” Jaime cleared his throat and rubbed his forehead feeling like he was on the verge of blacking out, “Would you… be interested in going on a date? With me?” Jaime looked over at Bart with hopeful eyes. He did not want to be rejected after being led on and being the bravest he had ever been.

“I would love to Jaime.” Bart was suddenly sporting that same sexy smirk that Jaime had fallen for the first time he had knocked Bart over.

“Wait- How did you know my name?” Jaime was astonished and it showed. He didn’t have a name badge, yet another thing Iris had apologized for the lack thereof, upon him joining the team. It was just one of a long list of things Jaime had been deprived of, like a booth.

“Hands on research.” Bart reiterated the sentence before pressing a finger against the upper side of the manilla folder resting in front of him.

“That was... actually pretty clever.” Jaime grinned before it became a gasp, “Wait a second! Is that why you laughed earlier? Did you think my name was funny?” Jaime was definitely sounding upset now. Bart couldn’t allow his new hunk of a date to wear that pout any longer. It was killing him. But he still went about revealing the truth in his now okay to be  _ gay flirty _ ways.

“No! God no! I think Jaime is a sexy name.” Bart raised his eyebrows playfully and they were back on track if Jaime’s shiver was of any indication, “I laughed because of your title names. I wasn’t sure if I was wasting my time flirting with you, but then I saw that I actually stood a chance.”

“What do you mean?” Jaime leaned forward in his chair and reached out to grab the manilla folder but Bart snatched it away from his grasp shaking his finger.

“Come on Jaime. It’s clear you’re repressing sexual attraction to dudes.” As Jaime opened his mouth to challenge Bart, he quickly whipped the folder open to begin proving his point, “Here. Let me read some of your article titles. And bear in mind these are supposed to be about technology.” Bart chuckled in advance, in fact, tears were almost coming to his eyes from the sheer amusement of reading the titles again.

Jaime watched on, genuinely perplexed by Bart’s claim. He knew Bart wasn’t wrong about him repressing sexual attraction to guys, but how did Bart know? His writing had never indicated anything of the sort! His articles were about technology!

“Okay here we go. This one is titled, ‘How to mount a USB Stick’.” Bart looked over as Jaime’s jaw slackened. Bart lifted the paper and placed it aside, “And this one is called, ‘Getting longer in the Jack - Headphones upgraded to 3.5mm’.” Bart placed that on top of the other and glanced up to see Jaime blushing a heavy red again. “The less said about, ‘Want to Fragment your Friends’ D: Drive?’, the better!” Bart leaned back and began laughing boisterously.

Jaime snatched the folder back - knowing he no longer could with his dignity - while Bart’s eyes were closed to allow him to laugh at his hardest, “Okay. I get the point.” Jaime shoved the folder back into the briefcase and made a show of shutting the lid so Bart didn’t go in there again.

Bart wiped a tear away and breathed to compose himself, “Look. I’m just saying, it was clear you weren’t straight. And I was really interested in you, so I thought I would give you a little push.” Bart rolled his chair back closer to Jaime, even closer than he had yet done. It resulted in Jaime’s smile from the compliment being short lived as it turned into a nervous grin.

That’s when Bart suddenly leaned in closer to Jaime’s face than anybody else had ever been. Bart’s butt had even had to leave the comfort of his own chair completely so that he could hover almost nose to nose with Jaime. 

Bart licked the teeth through his open and delighted grin caused by Jaime’s loud gulp before whispering, “And if you want to use me as research for this paper of yours…” Jaime’s eyes quickly dropped to focus intently on Bart’s tongue as the next line came out, “You can study me all, night, long.”

Jaime’s chest began rising and falling at an alarming rate as his eyes flickered back and forth between the most gorgeous green eyes he had ever seen and the most perfect pink lips he had ever seen.

Bart hovered in place waiting to see if Jaime would surrender to temptation. Jaime seemed to be squirming with the decision. Jaime wasn’t sure if an innocent kiss was moving too fast or not. It was just a kiss. One quick kiss. Surely that wouldn’t do no harm? Jaime really wanted to. His brain was throwing up justifications like a queasy kid on a roller coaster. But ultimately, Jaime’s lack of knowledge held him back. He still didn’t even know this man’s name!

Bart suddenly saw the door open and shot back into his chair acting professionally innocent.

“Hi mom!” Bart called out calmly as Iris walked into the office.

“Mom!” Jaime’s eyes were bigger than the volume of his exclamation.

Jaime’s chin wandered around impressively far as his neck swam around trying to cope with the shock revelation as Bart laughed leaning back in his chair chuckling.

“Yes.” Iris cut in standing behind and clutching the other free seat beside Jaime, “Jaime, this is my son Bart.”

Bart grinned a little too thickly as he reached over for a handshake, “Nice to meet you Jaime.”

Jaime eyed Bart in disbelief before grinning himself, “Likewise.”

Jaime’s manly handshake impressed Bart, he hadn’t been expecting it. Bart returned the favor and surprised Jaime by subtly brushing his thumb over the back of Jaime’s hand softly in the most romantic manner possible. Jaime almost winced under the swipe.

“I hope you don’t mind Jaime, but my son usually uses this room to do his homework while he waits for me to finish work. Is that okay?” Iris didn’t see the slight look of concern that washed over Bart’s face as she essentially gave Jaime the power to kick him out.

Jaime smiled with amusement and glanced at Bart for a fraction of a second before answering Iris, “Yeh. It’s okay.”

Bart let out the air he wasn’t even aware he had been holding hostage until Jaime had answered.

“Good. If he bothers you at any point, let me know and I’ll kick him out.” Iris grinned at Jaime who then relayed that same grin to Bart who squinted disapprovingly at Jaime’s cheek. Bart didn’t like Jaime having all the power. It went against the dynamic of their flirtatious dynamic. And Bart was far from done. He still had much enjoyment to derive from a flustered Jaime.

Iris suddenly turned to Bart to address her son now, “And you, let Jaime concentrate on his work.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out some money, “Here’s some money for the vending machine.”

Bart took it a lot more slowly than usual which surprised the woman. Once her son had thanked her she turned to Jaime once more. “Seriously though Jaime… If Bart starts to talk to you,” Iris spared a quick and cheeky glance at her son, “which he likely will. Then don’t hesitate to dob him in. He’s always had a problem with talking too much.”

Bart smacked his hands down on the table and protested, “I do not!” Jaime grinned watching the exchange. Who knew Bart - the flirtatious god - could be reduced to a non-threatening human?

“Oh please!” Iris scoffed, “Even before you could speak you were always making noise. I remember even when you were a toddler and running around in nappies, you used to yak on endlessly in gibberish!” Iris chuckled sweetly remembering the good old days.

“Mom!” Bart scolded, clearly embarrassed by her tales from the past. Bart glanced over horrified to see Jaime was grinning behind his fist, trying not to lose it.

“What?” Iris defended herself as she gestured at the man she noticed her son was looking at, “Jaime doesn’t care. Do you Jaime?”

“Not at all.” Jaime could barely keep a straight face as he answered his superior, providing her with exactly the answer she wanted to hear.

“Mom…” Bart sighed with exhaustion, “Don’t you have work to do?”

Iris folded her arms at her son and glared, “Anyway, Jaime. I’ll leave you to it.”

Bart’s brazenness wore off moments later and he realized he had likely bought himself a front row seat to a boring lecture when he got home. And this one he knew he couldn’t run from.

Once Iris had left, Jaime spoke up amplifying his grin, “I like your mom. She’s nice. Great storyteller.”

“Oh yeah?” Bart questioned, annoyed that Jaime knew his mother had ruined the moment.

“Yeah. Not so suave now huh?” Jaime chuckled not knowing he had poked the tiger.

Jaime barely processed the movement before suddenly Bart was straddling his lap. Jaime gasped and clung his hands openly to his chest not wanting to accidentally touch Bart and provoke him into doing something downright dirty. Anybody could walk in at any moment! Even Bart’s mother! And how had he managed to get his legs through the arm holes so quickly? Jaime was beginning to sweat in the stressful situation Bart had put him in.

“You were saying?” Bart leered proudly as he wrapped his arms over Jaime’s shoulders.

“I- I-” Jaime gave up and tried a different route, “B- Bart” Jaime tried to stutter in warning.

“I’m just doing ‘research’.” Bart mocked Jaime from his comfortable lap. Even Jaime had to admit Bart fit in the groove of his legs perfectly. Perhaps, a little too perfectly. Bart’’s hands slid down over the tops of Jaime’s shoulders and stopped at his collarbones. “Should I continue researching, Jaime?” Bart had asked so playfully that Jaime shuddered beneath him.

“Si.” Jaime spat out breathlessly not giving it a moment’s thought. This was part of it, was it not?

“Very well then.” Bart’s hand continued sliding down over the cotton - but could have been mistaken for silk - fabric, feeling the contours of his chest. Bart gasped, “I have discovered something.” Bart kept Jaime in suspense for a moment, “You work out at the gym too.” Bart grinned to show he was impressed and Jaime laughed. Even Bart crumbled and shared in Jaime’s musical laugh. Jaime’s eyes were shining with joy and pleasure. It felt really nice to laugh with Bart, even in his compromised position. Bart continued sliding his hands down even further stopping when his wrists hit the belt. By which point, Bart had made the discovery he had been hoping for most. “Aha! Just as I suspected.” Bart was pleased to know he was right.

Jaime was acutely aware of what Bart was talking about and wrapped his arms around Bart, only to help lift him up carefully as he stood. He wanted to ensure he didn’t hurt Bart’s legs by trapping them in the loops of the arms of the chair. Jaime exhaled over Bart’s face in defeat.

Jaime went to speak but he was admittedly trying to control himself, so Bart spoke first, “I’ll give you some time to cool off. I’m going to grab a bite to eat from the vending machine. Want anything in particular? They have plenty of sweets...” Bart was way too smug for his own good.

Jaime shook his head but involuntarily looked down at the approximate point of Bart’s own, causing the shorter man to laugh, “I’ll just get my favorite treat. Well… Favorite treat for now...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first installment of this fic is 5 Chapters! So you're officially up to date with this fic! If you'd like more, let me know in the comments section!


	6. If At First You Don't Succeed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a random little blip of an update for you... defs no ulterior motive here...

Bart strutted out of the boardroom and the grin on his face radiated in waves. Stopping at the vending machine, Bart inserted the cash Iris had given him. Bart watched as the machine hungrily chewed up the note. He quickly pressed the buttons necessary to select the twin Twirl bar. Easily one of the safest choices for sharing it with Jaime. Hungry lime eyes watched as the metal gate holding back his treat swirled forcing the purple plastic to travel closer and closer to the glass. Then the moment he had been patiently waiting for arrived, the treat dropped. Snatching the treat up from underneath the flap, Bart hurried back to the boardroom afraid that Jaime would begin to feel the emotion the room was named after.

“I’m back.” Bart leered, upon re-entering the room with that confident grin.

“I doubt you could stay away even if you tried.” Jaime grinned as he stepped out of line with his cheek, almost begging for the same punishment as before.

“Do I have to sit in your lap again?” Bart smirked as he made the threat before sitting down.

“Maybe?” Jaime smiled sheepishly not caring which way the axe fell.

“It’s probably too dangerous to risk getting caught here.” Bart answered dramatically casting an infectiously sad glance. Upon watching Jaime’s face drop, Bart’s next line got Jaime to cheer up again, “Good thing you asked me out on a date then huh?”

Jaime let out a singular, breathy laugh, “Si.”

“So… Where are you taking me?” Bart wiggled his eyebrows and watched as Jaime grinned before looking off into the distance to try and think of something special.

After too long had passed, Bart knew he needed to get Jaime’s attention back on him. He did so by snapping the conjoined chocolate bars. Bart held one of the sweet sticks out to Jaime waiting to see if he’d accept it.

“Gracias.” Jaime clasped the end of the milk chocolate stick and brought it up to his mouth.

That’s when Jaime noticed it. Bart was playing around with his Twirl bar suggestively with his mouth. Jaime laughed and shook his head. Bart quickly chewed and swallowed the bar.

“Not hot enough for you?” Bart leered with a slight dip of the brightness in his eyes.

“Lo siento.” Jaime tried to smile apologetically for disappointing Bart. He wasn’t used to a guy flirting with him, let alone flirting back in return. He anxiously took a bite of his bar.

Bart pondered the challenge to do something truly hot and came up with a solution quickly enough. He sat staring, and patiently waited until Jaime had finished the last bite of his bar and had swallowed. Then he pounced. Bart lunged grabbing Jaime’s hand before bringing it close to his face. Bart’s lively eyes traced the smudges of melted chocolate on Jaime’s fingertips from where the bar had melted in his hot hands. Bart glanced at Jaime as he slowly leaned in and placed his mouth over the first of Jaime’s chocolate covered fingers. The younger man smiled in victory as he watched a clearly mesmerized Jaime stare on.

Now that Bart had his attention, he looked back at the finger and focused on ensuring his sucking technique was perfect. He made sure there wasn’t a drop of chocolate left on Jaime’s finger. Bart looked up to see Jaime enjoying himself, embarrassed to be, but still enjoying it. Bart continued to clean each finger, adding to the intensity each time his warm lips came into contact with a new finger. After the last one, Bart thought about kissing the tip of each finger and the back of Jaime’s smooth hand, but he wanted to save their first official kiss for their first date. Plus if he allowed himself to start kissing Jaime’s hand, he knew he’d likely surrender to the temptation to work his way up that muscular arm of his, and then they’d be making out before he could stop himself. So as much as it pained him to, he refrained.

“That could not have been hygienic.” Jaime laughed to try and distract himself from the cherry coating on his cheeks making Bart daydream about cherry ripes.

“Some things are worth the risk.” Bart lifted his chin as he dropped the profound line. Nervous to lose Jaime’s attention, he tried again, “So… Decided yet on where we are going for our first date?”

Jaime thankfully remained focused on Bart this time, “Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“Somewhere private?” Bart grinned.

“Such as?” Jaime prompted with a laugh.

“Your place.”

Jaime was getting less surprised by Bart’s stunts now, “Umm… Well that option is off the table.” Jaime suddenly looked physically ill with guilt, before he at the door and sent a prayer that nobody would walk in as he began reaching and cupping Bart’s hand on the table, “Look, Bart. I’m really sorry, but... I don’t want my family to find out about us. Or this article.” Jaime’s eyes begged for understanding, “I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

For the first time, Bart looked at Jaime seriously and spoke softly with a smile. “It’s okay Jaime. My family doesn’t know that I’m interested in sexy hunks. So don’t tell my mom.” Bart winked as he returned back to normal. Jaime blushed for a moment before something else deeper floated to the surface again. Bart became worried by this particular brand of fear on Jaime’s face.

“Is this wrong…?” Jaime dared to ask.

“What?” Bart’s heart threatened to jump off the top floor of the skyscraper they were in.

“Me dating my boss’ son?” Jaime sounded a little bit bothered by it, but he had in actual fact agreed to dating Bart before even knowing of their relationship.

“No!” Bart waved a hand dramatically as he made Jaime think he was crazy based on his tone, “It’s perfectly fine! Besides, you didn’t know. And technically, Snart is the boss. So it’s fine! My mom’s just… like a mentor! Like  _ all  _ the other co-workers here who are all happy to help you out!” Bart then gestured between the pair with his finger, “And no one needs to know about us anyway!”

“I don’t know… It still feels  _ kind of _ wrong…” Jaime looked down sadly, he didn’t want to  _ feel  _ this way.

Bart reached over and placed his hand on Jaime’s knee, voice going soft and serious again, “Look, Jaime. Life’s too short to worry about dating someone related to your coworker. We could have met somewhere else, and discovered it further down the track when it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. Why should it now? We’re not doing anything wrong. We’re both of age and it’s just casual dating. It’s not like we’re getting married and running off together!” Bart threw in the dramatic line to get Jaime to laugh. Thankfully he did.

“I suppose.” Jaime looked up hopefully which is when Bart went for it.

“I really like you Jaime. I don’t know why, but I have a really good feeling about us. I want to see more of you.” Bart tilted his head hearing the opportunity slightly afterwards, “In both contexts.” 

He got a slightly bigger laugh out of Jaime this time, “I like you too. And you do seem to understand me better than most people.” The admission was something Jaime didn’t expect to be tipping over. Admittedly, Jaime had held off on dating because he had never forgiven himself for picking a partner who he had not only severely misjudged, but who hadn’t understood him or his feelings properly. But Bart, he had already seen through Jaime and followed his intuition to learn more about Jaime. Bart had even known from their limited first reaction to keep watching Jaime knowing he would lean back around that bus stop for one last look. It shocked him, but Bart got him on a deeper level already. And he knew that Bart would only get even better at reading him over time. And everything else be damned, Jaime was going to give it to him.

“Well… how about a nice dinner somewhere?” Jaime figured it was a safe enough option. It was also a classic first date. He was already starting to feel better about dating Bart after his speech.

Bart smiled and nodded before thinking he would politely add an idea into the mix. His impulsive decision to flirt with Jaime had already spiced his life up considerably already, and he figured why stop there? “Can I add a suggestion?” Bart grinned.

“Of course!” Jaime smiled and welcomed the idea.

“How about we go ice skating and  _ then  _ do dinner?” Bart frantically added one more thing, “And I’m happy to pay for both.”

Jaime laughed on an angle, “Bart, I’m paying for both.” The grin turned into a beam as he complimented Bart, “And I think that’s a very  _ cool  _ idea!” Jaime made sure to emphasise the pun as he dropped it. Bart looked up at Jaime with a soft exasperated expression.

“I think you should leave the jokes to me Jaime.” Bart couldn’t help but grin as he rubbed a finger teasingly under Jaime’s chin.

“Yeh…” Jaime chuckled as he shrunk in on himself, second guessing his attempt to be humorous. Usually he was quite witty and didn’t have to resort to cheesy puns, but Bart had an affect on him that turned his brain to mush and made it hard to think properly.

“So when are we going ice skating and to dinner?” Bart bit his lip to show how eager he was.

Jaime chuckled and pursed his lips as he mentally downloaded his calendar. Whilst Jaime was staring off into space thinking about it, he missed Bart staring at those pressed lips which he was struggling to refrain from leaping forward and pashing.

“Uhh... how soon did you want to go?” Jaime rubbed his neck, “I only ask because you have your studies to consider…” Truthfully, Jaime had cleverly used that excuse to hide his desperation for the date to be as soon as possible. He didn’t want to come off as desperate.

Bart shook his head with restraint as he bit down cutely on his lower lip begging to beam, “As soon as possible.” Jaime smiled at the adorable way Bart had gone about saying it, and Jaime was jealous. How come Bart could do it in such a way it didn’t come off as desperate he couldn’t. Bart and his cuteness.

“How about the weekend then?” Jaime knew Bart would have classes since the following day was Friday. So Bart would only have a two day wait.

“Tomorrow’s sooner.” Bart leaned forward on the table and turned on his sexy smirk again.

Jaime’s somewhat incredulous laugh was tainted by his flustered cheeks, “Don’t- Don’t you have uni tomorrow?” The fact that Jaime hadn’t shut Bart down for having work the next day caught Bart’s attention.

“Yeh? But as I see it, you’re more important.” Bart raised an intrigued eyebrow, “And I’m going to go out on a limb here and say you  _ don’t  _ have work tomorrow? Otherwise you would have shut me down on the spot. But you didn’t…?” Bart’s detective skills were on fire. Jaime had been thoroughly impressed with Bart’s research and analytical skills from the moment they had met. 

Jaime’s jaw slackened in amazement and Bart laughed. Jaime shook off the shock, “You’re right.” Jaime chuckled, “I don’t have work tomorrow. I booked it off.”

“Ooh.” Bart wiggled his eyebrows, “Why’d you do that?”

Jaime gasped comically, “You mean…? There’s something detective Bart  _ doesn’t  _ know?” Jaime broke down in a sweet chuckle over his cheeky remark. Bart grinned at him to warn Jaime he was going to get to the bottom of it. And have fun whilst doing so.

“I guess I’ll have to conduct some  _ more  _ hands on research.” Bart had promised himself he wouldn’t do it again, but he climbed back onto Jaime’s lap, causing the man to instantly get flustered and nervous and keep glancing at the door in terror.

“So Jaime…” Bart ran his hands down the silken, cotton fabric hugging his chest, “Why’d you book tomorrow off?”

Jaime gulped before stammering through the seductive hands roaming around his front, “I- I- It’s my birthday…” And ironically Bart was already making it feel like today was his birthday.

“Oh!” Bart exclaimed with surprised delight. But that’s when Jaime caught a naughty glint of fire sparkling above those lusty, lime eyes. The colors summoned to mind the imagery of a cocktail being made by Bart with imaginary skills on the tropical beaches of Hawaii. Birthday indeed.

Bart leaned in close to Jaime’s ear to whisper, “I guess I better give you a good birthday present tomorrow.”

Bart heard the desperation in the shaky exhale that brushed past his ear from Jaime’s lips. Bart grinned and leaned back proudly looking at Jaime who was the most flustered Bart had ever seen. His mind was clearly drowning him in all the downright dirty activities they could get up to.

“But what about your studies-” Jaime began to protest before Bart’s finger shut him up.

“Jaime… I have one question for you. Do you  _ want  _ to go out with me tomorrow?” Bart raised his eyebrows in an earnest way. It was clear Bart only wanted him to say yes if he meant it.

“Si.” Jaime bit his lip without actually meaning to. It was clear he wanted nothing more.

“Well then…” Bart leered, “I’ll have my birthday present ready for you tomorrow.”

Jaime chuckled as he looked back at Bart in wonder and awe. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> update to come soon hopefully... so just hang in there! and even if i update something else first, feel free to read that too, whatever it may be XP - I'm just struggling atm... But trying my best to produce content.


	7. Returning The Favor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content for Day 3 of Bluepulse Week! Sorry it took a while to update this! I have so many WIPS to choose from it's not funny. I was also in a hurry to churn out new content so I picked this particular fic since it's one of my quick-work ones. No joke, I've never written a fic faster than this one. All my chapters have been written in like half an to an hour lol. Most of my fics take a lottt longer because I try to be very meticulous and weave literary techniques into my work. But this one, I just sit and type and try to have fun. And honestly, I have had fun so far writing this fic. So hope you enjoy the next update XD.

As much as Bart wanted to remain in Jaime's lap forever, especially when Jaime was looking up at him like  _ that _ , he knew he better return to his seat. He climbed out on his own with an admirable amount of flexibility and agility. He sighed happily as he sat back down in his own chair and grinned over at Jaime. The pair shared a longing gaze and sat comfortably in silence both speaking to themselves internally.

_ “I wonder what I should get Jaime for his birthday present… Kiss aside.” _ Bart grinned.

Bart wondered whether Jaime was psychic due to the blush that spread across his cheeks like the opening of a newspaper, directly after the thought had crossed his mind. He decided to revisit the birthday present idea later and focus on choosing a venue for dinner.

“So Jaime… Where are we going for dinner?”

The formally dressed man laughed quietly to himself as he wondered that exact same question, “Where did you want to go?”

“It’s your birthday Jaime.” Bart’s leer was doing things to Jaime. “We can go somewhere far away or,” he trailed off as he pulled his chair right up against Jaime’s so there’s knees were interlocked together, “somewhere really  _ close _ .”

Jaime gulped and like smoke from a chimney, and he certainly felt the fire deep inside, his response sifted up without a filter. “Somewhere close.” He panicked a little and began rambling. “You know, if you want. I don’t know this area very well yet.”

“Perhaps you need a tour guide?” Bart set loose his sexiest smirk on Jaime.

Jaime was hoping they were on the same page and were no longer both talking about restaurants. But they would actually have to revisit that properly because he wanted to make a reservation. He liked to be organised, and he couldn’t fathom the embarrassment of taking Bart out for dinner only to be turned away at the door because of a lack of available tables left.

“Uhh... Si.” Jaime went off track - much to Bart’s well hidden disappointment - to actually talk about restaurants again. “Well, there’s a diner I really like down the road from my house?”

“Sounds crash.” Bart’s leer was lost on Jaime’s confusion now.

“Crash?” Jaime raised an eyebrow as he tried to decipher it from context.

“Oh. That. I make up words all the time. Crash means cool. Mode means bad. Biff means punch. Those are just some of my many creative exploits.” Bart leaned back in his chair grinning proudly wrapping his arms behind his head.

Jaime graced Bart’s ears with a musical chuckle before inquiring cheekily, “So you’re the son of a renowned journalist, and yet you break the rules of English by assigning words your own definitions?” The amused beam that spread across Jaime’s face was priceless.

“What can I say?” Bart asked rhetorically as he unfolded his hands from the back of his neck and stood up. He walked around to the back of Jaime’s chair and hovered his lips just over Jaime’s right ear before whispering, “I like to break the rules.” The cocky man began rubbing his hands down Jaime’s chest only far enough to reach Jaime’s impressive pecs, where Bart raised both hands and to pat the muscles affectionately. Then Bart retreated with a chuckle.

A disappointed Jaime instinctively spun around on his chair to see why Bart had stopped.

“I’ll be right back, I’m still hungry. I’m going to buy something else from the vending machine.”

“O- Oh.” Jaime spluttered in surprise. “You’re still hungry. Even after that snack? I thought you had mentioned having had lunch earlier?” The confusion on Jaime’s face was captivating in a cute way.

“I did.” Bart chuckled. He was used to people being surprised by how much he seemed to eat. His hand dived down into the depths of his pocket. Jaime watched as the hand wriggled about in the ocean-blue skinny jeans. Bart even stuck his tongue out a little in concentration and Jaime couldn’t help but chuckle at the endearing sight. Bart pulled out the leather wallet and opened it. “Dammit! I’m out of cash! So  _ moded _ !”

Jaime grabbed Bart’s attention as he messily scrambled to stand on his own two feet. “I can give you some money!” The desperation in his voice melted Bart, like the sight of him quickly rummaging around in his own pocket, to pull out his wallet and outstretch a wad of notes.

Bart gave Jaime the softest smile ever and walked up closer to him. There was an adoring aura in Bart’s gaze as he spoke, “Jaime. That’s really sweet of you but you don’t have to do that.”

The genuine response tugged at Bart’s heartstrings, “But I want to.” Jaime’s eyes smiled with his lips. It was clear he just wanted to make Bart happy. They  _ were  _ dating now anyway.

Bart smiled warmly at the generous guy, “Thanks Jaime… But why would I take your money when I can take Iris’ instead?” Like a chain reaction, Bart’s smirk caused Jaime to grin.

“Watch this…” Bart waved a hand over his shoulder to beckon Jaime to follow him.

Bart pushed the door a fraction of the way open so that he could peep down the barrel of the corridor directly into Iris’ office. Her office front was entirely glass, so Bart could see her sitting at her desk working away madly. Jaime’s head hovered just above Bart’s. The two heads continued peeping down the hallway unnoticed as they were shielded by the door.

“Ohhh Mom!” Bart sang the beckon in a mischievous tone, grinning as he awaited the reaction.

The two pairs of eyes trained on Iris in her office watched intently. The woman groaned before letting her head fall forward to gently slam into her desk. She visibly muttered some kind of curse before pushing out her chair to stand up. Bart and Jaime burst out into laughter in perfect unison and quickly retracted their heads before she looked up to see them, even if they were many yards down the hall.

In their haste to retreat and get back behind the door, Bart stumbled into Jaime’s chest as he hadn’t been nearly as quick as Bart had. A startled gasp fell from Jaime as he quickly wrapped his arms around Bart and barely managed to take a step back to stabilize the pair. The two were flush against one another. Jaime wasn’t sure if he had crossed a line by grabbing Bart around the waist so intimately. He quickly apologized like the gentleman he was, “Sorry!”

“Don’t be.” Bart raised an eyebrow like the tone of his leer.

“Uhh.” Jaime breathed out. “We should probably get back to our seats before Iris y’know…”

“Yeah…” Bart chuckled before pulling out of Jaime’s gravity. Jaime had wanted to pull Bart back in just as much as Bart had wanted to stay there, but they both knew they were running out of time.

The two quickly returned to their seats to look busy, and were well in position by the time Iris lazily leaned in through the door with an exasperated sigh. “What do you want Bart?”

“Could I please have some money for the vending machine? I’m all out.” Bart lifted his empty wallet up and showed Iris the depressingly empty inside of it, before setting it back down on the table. “I’ll pay you back later I swear!”

Jaime watched with curiosity to see how she would answer. He wasn’t sure how anyone could resist such an adorable face. And Bart’s begging tone had just made Jaime want to give him every dollar on his bank account. Thankfully, Bart wasn’t the kind to take advantage.

Iris rolled her eyes and ducked out again. She returned shortly after with her purse and walked over to her son to hand him the shiny green bills matching his appreciative irises.

“Thanks Mom!” Bart beamed as he took the cash and began humming as he tried to figure out what to buy with it. Like an eagle swooping in and grabbing its prey, Iris snatched Bart’s attention inadvertently when she turned and asked Jaime a question.

“So have you got any ideas for your first story yet Jaime?”

Jaime wasn’t sure if she was trying to be nosy as she had even openly acknowledged herself before if she was checking up on him because he did genuinely need to be doing some work. She had hired him after all, it made sense to him that she’d likely have him under the microscope. Journalism wasn’t all fun and games. He had to give her  _ some  _ crumbs.

Jaime swallowed nervously before choosing his words very carefully, “Si. I mean, yes.”

Jaime wasn’t alone in hoping she wouldn’t pry for more information. Bart looked worried too.

“Care to elaborate?” Iris chuckled as she folded her eyes in the brazen way only she could.

“Well,” he scratched his head and avoided eye contact, “I’ve decided the best way to write about dating in the LGTBQ+ community would be to actually give it a try.” He risked a look up at her.

She nodded thoughtfully, but without judgement. “May I ask? Are you a member of that community already?” As Jaime choked on air clearly surprised by her moxie, she spoke up again, “Don’t worry Jaime. I don’t judge. And you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Jaime knew the article would likely shed a light on the fact that he wasn’t entirely straight, similarly to the fact he had just told her he was willing to date a guy even for the sake of this article; so he decided to be honest. “Yes. I’m bisexual actually. But could you not tell-”

Iris held up a hand and mimed zipping her lips, “I promise I won’t tell anyone Jaime.”

“Gracias.” Jaime peeped quietly before sinking uncomfortably into his chair. Truth be told, he knew the truth was going to come out sooner rather than later. This article had just pushed up the timetable, and he was hoping his parents wouldn’t have found out until much later.

Iris felt guilty watching Jaime appear so uncomfortable in his own skin. She looked over to see Bart looking particularly sorry for Jaime. It was then she was worried that maybe having had Bart in the room might have made him feel awkward. “And don’t worry about Bart here. He won’t tell anyone either. Will you Bart?”

Acting strangely with animated movements, Bart answered, “Of course not! Why would I tell anybody? It’s Jaime’s secret to tell. And besides, there’s nothing wrong with being bisexual? I think it’s crash actually.” Bart gave Jaime a supportive smile right in front of Iris.

The woman with hair the color of Jaime’s cheeks smiled entirely missing the point in Bart’s admission. She had assumed Bart was just trying to be supportive out of kindness to a stranger. It warmed her heart actually, made her feel like he had raised her son right. Iris ignored the temptation to further the point and to also tell her son off for using that irritating lingo of his. Instead, she opted for a joke to lighten the mood; given that she was directly responsible for having ruined it. “Well whatever you do Jaime, don’t take dating advice from this one.”

Bart gasped with horror as Iris planted a hand down on his shoulder by way of explanation.

“And don’t feel bad if the first guy you ask out says no. I could tell you some stories about  _ Bart  _ here that would make you feel better if things don’t work out.” She chuckled as she rocked a mortified Bart in his chair like a maraca. “So hopefully Jaime, you’ll have better luck than him.”

Jaime’s mood had not improved even a little. Now he was worried about hearing about Bart’s past dalliances. It created expectations. He was starting to feel sick. There had been something comforting about feeling like he was on the path to being Bart’s first boyfriend. When in reality, it was entirely plausible and reasonable, that Bart would already have a dating history.  _ He _ did, so why wouldn’t Bart? Jaime nodded distractedly and murmured to Iris’ ears, “Hopefully...”

Her attempt to cheer him up hadn’t worked, so she decided to leave before things could get anymore awkward. She really was surprised that her offer to regale him with stories of Bart’s long history of failed relationships with women hadn’t even helped him to crack a small smile.

“I’ll leave you to it Jaime.” The guilt in her tone was apparent and it lingered in the air even after she had left the room.

Bart broke the silence first. It was as clear as day that Bart was feeling a myriad of emotions, primarily pity. “Jaime. I’m so sorry she pushed like that- That was so moded of her...”

“It’s alright.” Jaime’s shrug wasn’t fooling anyone.

Bart leaned over in his chair bit as he inspected Jaime’s face. He could tell there was something else floating on the reflecting pool of Jaime’s thoughts. It clicked. “Jaime... Just so you know. Those,” he lifted his fingers to frame the word, “stories,” before lowering them back down, “were all lies I told my Mom. And my Dad. I just didn’t want them getting suspicious of why I wasn’t dating. I’ve never actually dated anybody before.” There was only embarrassment in his tone.

“Really?” Jaime looked up with a slight amount of insensitive relief at hearing it; but his filter wasn’t on because he was too busy being shocked by Bart having read his mind yet again.

“Well yeah...” Bart shrugged awkwardly before smiling unknowingly. He couldn’t help but chuckle internally every time he thought about how Iris was supposed to be a journalist and yet bought all of his lies. “It’s kind of hard to date guys when you haven’t come out to your parents yet.”

Jaime pursed his lips as he wondered whether he risked asking Bart why; especially given how accepting Iris had appeared to be. Even if his father was a different story, Bart could have still told just Iris. She certainly seemed to be trustworthy enough to keep the secret too.

Bart gave the world’s smallest grin having read Jaime’s mind again. “I haven’t told Iris because she, and my Dad, both seem so happy when they talk about me as if I’m straight.”

Jaime nodded. He understood. He felt the same way about his mother too. He wasn’t entirely sure how his father would react, and that terrified him. But he could definitely relate with Bianca.

“Well… On the bright side, your Mom seems to like me?” Jaime cracked an optimistic grin.

Bart chuckled, the comment having made him feel better. “What’s not to like?”

“I know right.” Jaime gloated jokingly and leaned on his wrist whilst gesturing at himself.

It caused Bart to laugh with all of his body, from his head to his toes. They almost met actually as he curled over in his chair ever slightly. Both men sighed happily feeling much better.

“Anyway, did you want me to come with you to the vending machine?” Jaime put out the generous offer hoping that Bart would say yes. He wanted to keep his date company.

“You mean… I get to show you off to the _whole_ office like the trophy you are?” Bart grinned.

“Something like that.” Jaime snorted in amusement as he used his feet to spin his chair a bit.

“ _ Lucky me _ .” Bart leered. The blue skinny jeans stretched over Bart’s legs as he stood. Bart offered his hand and helped Jaime out of his seat. “So should we hold hands or something?”

“Ha. Ha.” Jaime’s sarcasm caused him to roll his eyes in a way Bart just found immeasurably enticing. It made him want to make Jaime roll his eyes more often, but in a good way.

The two left shortly after and went to procure more snacks for Bart. Jaime tried to act as if he was getting food for himself too since he was under the watchful eyes of the entire office. Bart had noticed the majority of people sneaking quick glances hungrily at Jaime, and he didn’t care for it. It had actually made for lively conversation when they had returned to Jaime’s ‘office’. The pair continued to speak for hours, laughing and having a good old time until Iris returned.

“Hey Bart. It’s time to go.” Iris smiled as she walked into the room. Bart packed up his things and pulled out his car keys which jingled with the anticipation of Bart and Jaime’s upcoming date the next day. It was a good thing they had thought ahead and exchanged phone numbers.

Iris said goodbye to Jaime before Bart did. Bart watered down the leer. “Seeya later Jaime.” 

Jaime chuckled and raised a hand politely at them both, “Adios.” As soon as the two had left, he began packing up his own items. Suddenly, a scribble on his manila folder caught his eye. It read, ‘Looking forward to tomorrow! <3’. Jaime grinned and shook his head before leaving too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a POSITIVE comment and let me know what you thought of the latest chap!


	8. Dig A Little Deeper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAY 4 OF BLUEPULSE WEEK! WE ARE HALFWAY AND I'M REALLY HOPING THAT THERE'S PLENTY MORE CONTENT ON ITS WAY! But yes, without further ado, I give you... Yet another chapter of 'In The Interest Of Research'. I can't believe this is up to Chapter 8 already ahaha. Gotta love letting loose on a fic every now and again. HOPE YOU, YES YOU READER, LIKE THIS NEW CHAPTER!

With a smile that looked like it would be stuck on his face until the end of time, Jaime exited the building and turned the corner. Upon reaching the bus stop shelter, Jaime leaned against with a happy sigh. He glanced over at the very spot he and Bart had first bumped into one another. He was tempted to go over and stand there, but he didn’t want to risk missing his bus.

When the bus choking on it’s own exhaust pulled up, Jaime quickly hopped on and scanned his bus pass. Surveying the available seats, he opted for the one towards the back of the cabin, and took it. With one last longing look, Jaime visualized Bart smiling up from him on the concrete footpath. A beam broke out across his face, and it didn’t budge as the bus lurched forward and took off.

A brisk walk home later and Jaime was in the welcoming environment of his parents greeting him in the living room. After hugs were exchanged, Bianca gestured towards the couch adjacent from the one she and her husband had been sitting in, “Siéntate.” Jaime’s parents excitedly returned to their sofa and excitedly made the joint request, “¡Cuéntanos sobre tu primer día!”

Jaime chuckled a little at their enthusiasm, “Well… It was good.” He tapped his kneecaps while wearing a dorky grin thinking about Bart and his date the next day. Oh, and his birthday.

“Good?” Bianca side-eyed her husband with a look of perplexion. “Only just  _ ‘good’ _ ?”

Scratching his forehead, Jaime pursed his lips realizing they’d want a lot more information than that. They wanted a running faucet of details, not just a singular drop. “ _ Umm… _ The people there were very friendly. I got a tour. They don’t have a desk for me yet but they’ve given me a temporary office instead, which is actually pretty cool. I met the boss and he was a  _ total- _ ”

Alberto cleared his throat before Jaime could finish his sentence. Both his parents never condoned the usage of swearing, a total hypocritical move on their part as they constantly swore in the privacy of their own home.  _ Parents _ .

Jaime tittered guiltily before changing course, “Anyway, it was pretty good.”

The question Jaime had been dreading came next from Bianca, “So are you writing anything?”

After taking suspiciously long to answer, Jaime answered, “Si. It’s an article about dating…”

Jaime wasn’t fond of the patronizing hum that came from his father. “¿Conociste a una chica linda hoy?” Alberto grinned wondering whether Jaime had been inspired to write an article on that topic for that very reason. Neither of his parents knew stories were actually assigned.

Jaime’s groan couldn’t even begin to describe how pained he was by Alberto’s teasing, “ _ Pa… _ ” He raised to his feet making his intentions of leaving the room abundantly clear. After waving a hand nonchalantly, Jaime explained. “El jefe me asignó esa historia en particular.”

“Ah.” Alberto nodded before looking over at Bianca almost blankly as Jaime left the room.

Slipping in and out of the kitchen like his family did between communicating in English and Spanish, Jaime made a beeline for his bedroom. Unfortunately, his parents were apparently eager to try and mend the awkward atmosphere they had created. Jaime sighed as his parents entered his bedroom cautiously. The two stood about lingering in the entryway with nervous but cheesy smiles. Bianca spoke first, “Are you excited about your birthday tomorrow hijo?”

“Yeah?” Jaime looked up from his phone where he had been looking at Bart’s mobile phone number and grinning. He wiggled backwards a bit into the pillows up against his bedhead.

Bianca shuffled on the spot before asking, “Is there anyth-” She stopped speaking as her head snapped towards the door when she heard her daughter shrieking her name. She groaned with irritation before yelling back with a swipe of her hand, “¡Ahora no Milagro! ¡Estoy ocupado!”

“But I need you!”

Bianca rolled her eyes and nudged her husband, “Ve y ayuda a tu hija.” She was on a mission and would not be stopped. Alberto rolled his eyes too before turning and leaving to go find her.

“Lo siento.” Bianca took a few steps closer to Jaime wondering whether to sit on his bed or not, but choosing not to. “I was going to ask… Is there anything you would like to do tomorrow? Your father and I can take you out to a really nice restaurant? We could go to the beach? Anything you like?” The woman smiled happily and clasped her hands together as she awaited his reply.

Jaime swallowed, “Actually… I wanted to go out tomorrow for a few hours.”

Bianca was right on board, “¡Si! Anything you want! Just let me know what it is now so I can go and make any bookings if necessary.” She was glad Jaime finally knew what he wanted to do because she had been asking for weeks in order to book ahead of time and not risking losing out, but Jaime had continuously shrugged or rolled his eyes as if he had had no interest.

“Umm. Ma…” Jaime put his phone down nervously and ran a hand over his short cropped hair. “I was hoping to go out by myself…”

After a second of scary silence, she began chuckling in playful disbelief. She sternly put her foot down in a caring manner. “¡No seas ridículo! ¡No puedes estar solo en tu cumpleaños!”

“I won’t be alone!” Jaime spat out reassuringly. “I’ll,” he hummed for a moment to hide the sound of cogs turning in his brain as he came up with an on-the-spot lie, “be with Tye! Yep! Just me and Tye... hanging out. Hermano’s.  _ Hanging. Out. _ ”  _ Sure, now he was talking like a faucet. _

“You’d rather spend time with  _ Tye  _ over your family? And why is Tye special enough  _ this  _ year? You didn’t catch up with him until the weekend last year?” Bianca folded her arms before sitting by Jaime’s feet. That was it. The jig was well and truly up. “¿Por qué estás mintiendo,  _ Jaime _ ?”

“I’m not lying!” Jaime really was a terrible actor. Folding his arms to look tough fooled no one.

“Okay,” she leaned in and began speaking in a mockful tone, “so if I call Tye’s mother and ask-”

“Fine! I lied!” Jaime threw his arms up in a show of annoyance before flopping them down on the bed. After shooting her a glare for pressing, he sighed in defeat. “I have a date tomorrow.”

Bianca’s eyebrows jumped as she leaned back a little in surprise, “A date?”

“Si.” Jaime pulled his knees up to his chest feeling vulnerable, but his tone was all finality. “And no, I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t feel comfortable telling  _ you  _ or  _ Pa  _ about my love life.”

Bianca took a moment to process his statement before lifting her hands up in defeat, “I won’t stand in your way hijo, it’s  _ your  _ birthday. I just want you to be happy.” She smiled in a way that made Jaime feel guilty. But as far as he was concerned, he didn’t care for her pursuit of honesty. Some things were personal, and he believed with every fibre of his being, that he was entitled to keep those things to himself. Unfortunately, Bianca didn’t think either of her children should ever keep a single secret from her; especially, when it came to dating. But she could see how upset Jaime was, so she decided to drop it. Exception aside she asked, “If you won’t tell me her name or where you are going, can you at least tell me after the date how it went?”

Jaime winced at the sting of her pronoun, knowing exactly what Bart had meant earlier when relaying how he felt. He hummed on the decision for a minute before agreeing, “Uhh… Sure.”

“Gracias.” She reached out and held his jaw for a moment to show she cared, before dropping the hand back to her side. “So what time is the date? I’m  _ only  _ asking so I know when to work around it. We’re  _ still  _ going out as a family whether it’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner.” She grinned as she enlightened him on the contractual obligations that came as being a Reyes.

A small smile settled on Jaime’s lips, “I haven’t set a time yet, but we’re catching up in the afternoon and then having dinner together later.” He was rather glad he hadn’t mentioned the ice-skating. The last thing he needed was his family to show up there by complete ‘ _ coincidence’ _ .

“Alright. We’ll all go out for breakfast. How does that sound?” Bianca smiled optimistically.

“Sounds good.” Jaime’s tone gave a thumbs up so he wouldn’t have to.

With a groan to show her age, Bianca stood up before calmly announcing, “Te dejaré solo para organizar tu cita caliente mañana.” She plastered a grin on her face while she waited.

“¡Ma!” A role reversal occurred as Jaime scolded his mother, causing her to chortle as she left.

Jaime shook his head with disgust and then lifted his phone back up again to text Bart. The smile was as instant on his face as the glow of his lock screen upon pressing the power button. As he started typing up the message, an incoming phone call came in. It was Bart. Jaime dropped the phone with shock thinking how close of a call that had been to when his mother was in the room. Picking it up and answering, Jaime whispered, “Hola B-  _ amorcito _ .”

“ _ Ooh _ .” Bart’s leer was more predictable than the plot of one of his mother’s Spanish soap operas. Jaime rolled his eyes but listened intently as Bart continued talking over the sound of his own quickening heartbeat. “So  _ that’s  _ what I am to you now huh?” Bart guffawed. “That’s totally crash,  _ babe _ . Anyway, I was calling to find out about tomorrow. What’s the plan?”

Jaime, now known as ‘babe’, took a few seconds to collect himself. He was still trying to keep his voice hushed as he spoke into the phone watching his bedroom door vigilantly in case someone walked in. “Uhh… Ice skating at 4pm? Dinner at 6pm?”

Bart clicked his tongue happily in approval. “Gotcha. Also, how are we getting there?” Bart kicked his droll tone into full gear. “Are we going  _ together _ ,” he lingered on the word for too long, “or  _ separately _ ? Are we going by  _ car _ ? Am I going to  _ run  _ there? Are you gonna  _ fly  _ there? Are-”

“ _ -Amor- _ ” Jaime’s tone was tense in a way Bart couldn’t help but chuckle cutely.

Before Jaime could offer to drive Bart, the comedian got in first. “I’ll drive. Where do you want me to pick you up? Your  _ front door _ ? Mi  _ amor _ ? Hey! That rhymes!” 

This time Jaime chuckled with Bart. He was such a dork. But an overwhelmingly cute and handsome one at that. Jaime was quick to surpass the joke, “How about I drive to work. You can pick me up at the bus stop there.” Jaime would have walked a few streets away but he was worried about his mother getting too suspicious of why Jaime wasn’t picking his date up himself. And Jaime couldn’t very well just drive Bart from his house either; not with his parents home.

“Crash! I’ll pick you up at the bus stop then at 4pm. Don’t be late  _ babe _ .”

Jaime chuckled nervously as he fiddled with his nape for comfort. “I won’t be.”

The two said their goodbyes and just as quickly as the line had disconnected, the night passed by. After an awkward dinner, Jaime went to bed and was awoken by a text at midnight on the dot. It was a happy birthday message from none other than Bart. Jaime chuckled and sent back a quick thank you before going back to bed, another year older.

Jaime scrunched his face up as the curtains in his room were yanked open, letting the morning sun spill in and blind him through his eyelids. He grunted and threw an arm over his face.

“¡Feliz cumpleaños Jaime!” 

Jaime rolled to the side at hearing Bianca’s coo, before her footsteps stomped around to the side of the bed he was now facing. He couldn’t avoid her. She was going to wake him up. With great sadness, Jaime opened his eyes knowing there was no turning back.

“Buenos dias Ma.” The grumble was still somehow understood by his mother.

“¡Venga! ¡Levántate! Saldremos a desayunar. Habríamos ido a almorzar, pero deberías prepararte para tu cita.” She sounded way too entertained to be in the know.

A groan of regret from telling her escaped Jaime’s lips. But at least she had allowed him time to get prepared for his date. He was already nervous enough as it was. The last thing he needed was to be rushing home from a celebratory lunch to shower, get dressed and head out.

One last tired whine bounced across the pillow, “Me vestiré en un minuto.”

“Good. We’ll all be waiting for you downstairs.” The woman grinned and closed the door behind her as she left him in peace to get up and get changed out of his pajamas. 

It took a minute to collect himself, but then he eventually dragged himself out of his warm bed. He was going to miss it. He hoped the restaurant or cafe or wherever they were going to was at least quiet. He had a lot on his mind trying to mentally prepare for his date with Bart.

Once dressed, Jaime hurried downstairs to greet his well dressed family. Both his father and sister - with a little nudging, literally - wished Jaime a happy birthday. Alberto was holding a gift bag with Jaime’s gift-wrapped birthday present in it. A quick glance revealed nothing but cellophane concealing the wrapped gift beneath. Jaime couldn’t even size the mystery item up.

It was a relatively nice car ride over as Jaime was given free range over choosing what songs to listen to. Jaime was extra surprised that Milagro didn’t protest over the power he had been bestowed with, but he suspected a lecture from his father had been behind the silence.

The rest of the breakfast had really gone by in an odd kind of blur. It felt more or less like he had been on autopilot throughout the whole thing so he could focus in the back of his mind on Bart.  _ What was he going to wear? What was he going to talk about? What was he going to bring to give to Bart? Flowers? Chocolates? He had never gone on a date with a guy before? He didn’t know what the protocol was? _ And it wasn’t too long until he was home and had to start making all of these decisions. It was only then Jaime discovered how quickly time went when one was preparing for a date. Now ready, or as he so desperately hoped, he grabbed his car keys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's getting teed up for... 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦. Hehe. Are you excited for the upcoming date? Let me know in the comment section! 😁


	9. What An Ice Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's been like 8 months since I last touched this fic... Sorry about that! (And all the other fics that are still a work in progress)... I have a compulsion for starting new fics before I finish the existing ones. It's an endless cycle of madness lol.
> 
> Anyway, I have decided to shake up my fortnightly schedule of content-posting, and post now despite having posted last week. I have had a rough week, and got a lovely comment asking me to continue this, so I thought I'd take a shot at it.
> 
> As with all the previous chapters of this fic, I wrote this in a truly rushed manner. I try writing each fic with a different method. This was one of the first fics I've ever actually just sat down and hashed out without doing any planning first whatsoever. So I have tried to recapture that energy by sitting down and writing this as quickly as the previous chapters. Hopefully it is good!

Taking a deep breath, Jaime readied himself to begin the checklist. Ascending from his sleek canvas shoes, his sienna irises brushed up the length of his tall figure, finishing at his charcoal, spiked hair. He was wearing all the most expensive casual wear he owned. Dangerously blue canvas shoes sat below navy skinny jeans with dangling tassels. Overlapping his waistline was the rim of a grey jacket, concealing a black t-shirt. He wasn’t sure if he was dressed appropriately for the rink to avoid getting cold. Of course, there was every chance he and Bart could huddle for warmth? He swatted the desire away in the mirror.

There wasn’t really much to do with his hair. He was grateful he didn’t need to run any gel through it. It was short enough to stand on its own, but long enough that the wind could blow it around in an enticing manner, like something out of a romantic scene in a movie.

He nodded deciding it would have to do. He was relatively confident Bart would like his outfit and appreciate the effort he had put in. Grabbing the gift for Bart on his dresser, Jaime stormed towards the front door eager to hit the road and be on his way. His excitement only grew with each step; that was until his mother slipped out of nowhere and blocked the front door.

“¿Ma? ¿Qué estás haciendo?” Jaime made sure his eyes showed her now wasn’t the time.

“Quería ver lo que llevabas puesto,” she grinned and folded her arms, “Te ves muy bien hijo.”

A rosy cheeked Jaime was relieved when she finally stepped aside and opened the door for him. “Gracias.” He couldn’t hurry past her fast enough. And much to his chagrin, Bianca followed him out into the driveway where his laguna-blue sedan was parked.

Leaning against the window as Jaime hurriedly buckled himself in trying to ignore her, Bianca knocked against the glass. He groaned and pressed the button to lower the window. “Ma, you’re going to make me late!” He started the engine to send a very strong message.

“I just wanted to wish you good luck  _ hijo _ .” There was another question hanging on her lips and Jaime could see it. He waited for her to spill. “So… You’re not bringing her flowers? Just a snack for yourself?” Despite the obvious judgement, she didn’t sound too upset about it.

Knowing full well that that ‘snack for himself’ was  _ actually  _ his gift for Bart, he lied proudly, “Si.”

Bianca gave him an amused ‘don’t expect this date to go well’ look before taking a step back and smiling affectionately, “Drive safely  _ hijo _ .” A grin suddenly surfaced on her face, “I look forward to hearing how it went tomorrow morning.” 

Jaime rolled his eyes and began reversing. After waving over his shoulder, Jaime took off down the street risking a speeding fine. As the engine revved, so did his heart. It was so exciting to be going on a date with a guy who just got him on a personal level. Then there was the fact that Bart was downright charming, sweet and  _ so _ cute.

Perhaps to the point of being concerned, Jaime’s thoughts were no longer on the road. Once he had realized this, the guilt had settled in pretty quickly; and he hoped that at least Bart was concentrating behind his own wheel. It didn’t take long to reach the staff car park where he swiftly parked. Hopping out carefully - so as to not ding the adjacent car - he locked the vehicle and sped walk up the ramp leading out of the basement and on to the sidewalk. And there he was.

Jaime blushed a little as he took in the sight of Bart. His date was wearing stylish red Nike’s with a fiery gold tick of approval, because  _ damn _ , did Jaime ever. He was also sporting a pair of denim skinny jeans that highlighted his spectacularly toned lower half. Up above, much to Jaime’s surprise, Bart was only wearing a long sleeve baseball shirt with red sleeves and a white middle. His hair was waving at Jaime in the wind since Bart was busy looking down at the footpath smiling. He was gazing upon their special spot on the pavement.

It didn’t take long for Bart to spot Jaime approaching him and his parked car beside the bus stop. The second Bart had looked up, Jaime had noticed him smiling with all of his face, eyes wide with excitement. The sight had Jaime wanting to run and hide behind the bus shelter again to collect himself. But this was no time for games. He had a date, and it was his birthday!

“Hola Bart.” He awkwardly shifted and began revealing the item he was hiding behind his back. “I uhh… brought these for you. I wasn’t sure what I should get you...” After trailing off nervously, Jaime finally looked up when Bart gasped. He was instantly relieved to see Bart beaming, perhaps the widest he had seen so far.

“I love Chicken Whizees! They’re my favorite! Thanks!” Bart eagerly accepted the orange and yellow packet of junk food before moving onto more pressing business. A grin immediately split his lips leaving Jaime nervous. “And by the way... Happy Birthday!”

“Gracias.” Jaime chuckled and shifted his weight to the other foot.

“How about a birthday hug?”

Jaime’s feet inched closer before he had even answered verbally, “Sh- sure.”

An award winning grin jumped over Jaime’s shoulder, along with one hand desperately clutching a packet of Chicken Whizees. Time slowed down for the pair as they noted the feeling of one another in their arms. Jaime particularly enjoyed how Bart felt wrapped inside of his arms. 

When Bart stepped back, he was keen to get himself and a -  _ now  _ \- flustered Jaime into his car and on their way to the ice-skating rink. Speaking his mind, he gestured to the red sedan still running by the sidewalk. The two hopped in and got comfortable quickly.

“If you’re wondering about your present, don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten. It’s in the back seat.”

Jaime chuckled and chose not to spoil the surprise by glancing behind him, “Gracias. You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Of course I did! It’s your birthday! I love celebrating birthdays, they are always so crash. Speaking of, how’s your day been so far?”

There weren’t words in existence to describe the passion of Bart’s smile. Jaime was mesmerized by how much his date truly cared. When he finally drifted back down to reality he managed to say, “I had breakfast with my family.”

“And?” Bart chuckled to fill in the break between his next question, “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“It was alright,” he smiled awkwardly hoping that his response would appease Bart.

“Just alright huh? I guess I better make your afternoon  _ great  _ then.”

There was a shared look for a moment, before Jaime hastily set his eyes back on the road ahead, followed by Bart moments later. That’s when Jaime smiled to himself and wondered how much fun they were going to have in the latter half of his special day. Ice skating was bound to be enjoyable. He suddenly remembered he had forgotten to book ahead for the activity.

“Ay,” he pinched his nose, “Dios mio. I just remembered I forgot to book us in for ice skating. I remember the dinner, but not the ice skating.”

“Don’t worry Jaime, we’ll be fine. See? Here we are now! And we’re the only ones here!”

Surely enough, Bart wasn’t exaggerating. As Jaime looked around the emptying parking lot, mouth ajar at the rare sight; Bart switched off the car engine. After applying the handbrake and looking over at Jaime, Bart’s grin wasn’t going anywhere, just like the car.

The two men hopped out of the vehicle and shut their car doors only seconds apart before walking around to meet at the bonnet. The two began walking across the ghost town towards the entrance. Jaime jumped a little when he suddenly felt Bart’s fingers tentatively thread between his own. After looking down at the link and then at his date, he blushed a little.

“Hope it’s crash if I hold your hand,” he smiled up at Jaime with enough warmth to melt the ice rink all the way from the parking lot.

“It’s crash,” he squeezed his date’s hand back for reassurance.

The two strolled up to the double doors and stopped in front of a big red sign plastered on the glass. Jaime’s panic set in as he read the sign, ‘Closed for renovations.’ 

“Dios mio… It’s,” he swallowed, “shut?” So much for their first date going smoothly… This was all his fault! He should have remembered to phone ahead in advance. He began to apologise when Bart happily spoke over the top of him.

“ _ Chill _ birthday boy. I told you not to worry.” A smug grin appeared on his face as he lifted a key from his pocket before parading it in front of Jaime’s stunned sienna eyes.

“ _ You _ have a key to the ice-skating rink?”

“I called in a favor with a friend of mine. Why do you think I suggested it?” He winked cheekily before turning to the property which he had secretly set up earlier in the day.

Bart inserted the key before letting the pair in the building now flooded with the echoes of a paranoid security alarm. Jaime covered his ears as Bart jogged over to the panel on the wall and entered a six digit pin. And then all was silent again. They keyholder made sure that he locked the doors behind them in case any members of the public tried their luck. The man in charge then walked behind the front counter as if he owned the joint before pulling up a pair of ice-skates that fit himself. Looking up at Jaime he asked, “What size feet do you have babe?”

“I don’t know?” The man wasn’t sure if he was more flustered by Bart calling him ‘babe’ or embarrassed by the fact that he didn’t know what his shoe size was. “Big, I guess?”

“You know what they say about big feet,” he leered. Bart chuckled as Jaime’s jaw actually dropped a little, before he ducked behind the counter again. The blushing Latino took a few moments to try and discreetly rub the red off his cheeks before Bart reemerged with a large pair of ice-skates for him as well as a blue gift bag.

With both hands full, Bart nodded in the direction of a brightly lit hallway, “Follow me.” 

Jaime trailed after Bart and followed in his stead, taking a seat on the wooden benches surrounding the ice rink itself. This was when Bart took the opportunity to hand over the shiny gift bag to Jaime who was clearly touched by the gesture. The bag had been a lot heavier than he had been expecting it to be, which caused him to glance up in surprise. But all he saw was Bart grinning back at him with anticipation and excitement.

Jaime reached in and produced a box. When he settled it in his lap and read the table he gasped, “You bought me a BeetleCam?” After gawking at Bart for a few seconds, he managed to explain, “You really shouldn’t have.These are  _ so  _ expensive.” All he could feel was guilt.

“I got a good deal on it! I swear!” Bart took a break from being loud and leaned in closer to whisper, “And it’s a must have for all the  _ hottest  _ journalists out there.”

“ _ Still _ Bart, this is too generous.” Jaime didn’t know whether he should insist on paying him back.

“ _ Babe _ ,” he chuckled seriously, “it’s totally crash! Now look at what else is inside the bag!” 

“There’s more?” Jaime had to blink to keep his eyes from falling out of his head.

With nerves bubbling up inside of him, Jaime peered back into the bag to see what else Bart had treated him to. He was relieved to see a much less costly collection of pens, pencils, highlighters, brand new notepads and other stationary for his journalism job.

“Gracias Bart.” He didn’t waste any time surging forward for an appreciative hug.

“You’re welcome. I figured they’d all come in handy for your new job!” Bart’s enthusiasm was adorable and Jaime couldn’t help but smile. But what Jaime hadn’t been expecting was for Bart to look sad only moments later. “Look, I know you wanted to write about technology Jaime. I’m sorry you got stuck with the dating story but-”

“I’m not,” he placed his hand on Bart’s to shut him up. It was the most at peace Jaime had ever seen Bart since meeting him, and it made his heart sing. “I’m glad I got the story, otherwise I wouldn’t have had an excuse to ask you out.”

“Wait a second… So this is a real date?” Bart feigned a gasp trying to hide his grin for as long as possible. “So it was never about writing a crashtastic article? Wow… And here I was thinking you were a professional.”

The cheeky comment lit a fire in Jaime’s chest and he was quick to lean in close ready to retaliate. “How about we take a picture then? For the article. Since I’m  _ so  _ unprofessional.”

Bart loved hearing how naturally the sarcasm flowed from Jaime’s mouth, it was making him want to tick off Jaime even more until the tension broke out into a passionate kiss. But he set the idea aside for later and simply agreed to the photo before remarking, “Get in close.”

The pair snuggled close and beamed before a bright light flashed in their eyes, forcing them to share an almighty laugh together. After setting the camera down, Jaime stood and held out his hand before asking, “Should we hit the ice now?”

Accepting the hand but not moving from his seat, Bart licked his teeth and chuckled awkwardly before admitting, “Uhh Jaime, I should probably tell you. I don’t actually know how to ice-skate.”

“¿Qué?” Jaime wasn’t sure he had heard correctly and laughed. “Then why did you suggest it?”

Bart blinded Jaime for the second time in as many minutes; this time with his innocent smile before answering, “I was hoping you could teach me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when the next update for this fic will come, but hopefully this little taster will keep y'all satisfied for a while! I am working on a multi-chap gift for someone I owe big time at the moment, so that is my primary focus at the mo. It's also a very challenging work. Hopefully after I complete this new fic, I'll return to some of my older ones before starting a new one. But if I don't, just @ me in the comments lol and hopefully that'll knock some sense into me ahahah. Thanks for reading y'all! And as always, please feel free to comment.


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